Expanding drugs import list demands careful planning, clear answers

The One Bermuda Alliance supports any initiative that will give Bermudians access to good quality, lower cost generic drugs.

But the initiative put forward by Minister Zane DeSilva raises questions and concerns that must be answered before we proceed. Too often this government has acted without proper planning and control, and it for this reason that we want the Minister to provide Bermuda with greater clarity about his plans.  After all, the care and protection of Bermudians is at stake.

1. Can the Minister explain why he chose to expand the drugs import list without consulting the Pharmacy Inspector or the Bermuda Pharmaceutical Association?
2. There is a strange gap in the Minister’s statement supporting his move to expand the list of countries from which drugs may be imported. He cited “Major drug companies such as Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and others (that) have manufacturing facilities in India.” But those companies’ products are already available to Bermuda through a pre-existing list of designated import countries. They are brand-name companies and are not producing the generic medications that Mr. DeSilva says he wants for Bermuda. The Minister must provide Bermuda with sound information about his plan because right now, on the basis of what he has said, it does not add up.
3. Minister DeSilva said Mr. and Mrs. Bermuda can save up to $2,000 a month using generic drugs. But he provides no evidence to back up the statement. What cost analysis has he used to put forward such a figure? And so we ask him to provide Mr. and Mrs. Bermuda with his cost analysis to support his claim.

We have other concerns:

The Minister did not address the point that the people who are most dramatically affected by drug costs are those who do not have insurance.  For many of these people, “free generic drugs” through insurance payments is not an option, and even the cost of generics is prohibitive for them.

Many of the cost issues are due to the fact that certain drugs are not available generically because they are still on patent. Which generic drugs are currently inaccessible through the Bermuda market?

A recent report in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association stated that Southeast Asia is widely reported to be the origin of much of the world’s counterfeit drugs.  The article also stated that a World Health Organization report determined that India is the leading producer of counterfeit drugs, accountable for as much as 35% of the world’s production.  These types of figures underline why pharmacists, doctors and patients are voicing concerns.

Bermuda currently has inadequate controls in place to control the quality of imported drugs.  It is why our existing import restrictions on countries are so important.  Pharmacists and the Government agree that controls need to be tightened.  Legislation to support this is pending.

And so we return to our original questions: Why has Mr. DeSilva moved without consulting industry stakeholders, and why is he so resistant to sensible suggestions to hold off on expansion until greater controls are in place.

There is every reason to proceed with care in this area. Care and protection of our people is the first priority and it is vital we do so through careful planning and consultation.

Mr. DeSilva’s initiative, as it stands, leaves important questions and concerns unanswered. He needs to assure Bermuda that he is exercising all the due diligence that this important issue demands.