YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. The new law on medications is not aimed against any business. Its purpose is to provide quality of medications to the population, safety and efficiency, deputy minister of healthcare Sergey Khachatryan told ARMENPRESS, speaking about the new law and criticism around it. The new law will come into force from December 15.

Asked what problem the new law solves and what is its purpose, Mr.Khachatryan said the main purpose is ensuring quality medication for the population, safety and efficiency, as well as ensuring affordability of drugs. “The law must be viewed from this angle, if someone doesn’t look at it from this point of view, and some organization is viewing it based on its interests, then it begins to immediately distort it. Everyone must understand this isn’t aimed against any business. There is an impression as if it is working against someone, whereas it’s the opposite. Some organizations understand what they have previously done to taint this field, they no longer can do that,” the deputy minister of healthcare said.

- Let us speak about the provision on sale of medications by prescription. Of course, the idea is acceptable for many, but it raises a question that there are no corresponding sub-legislative regulations. There are situations which are not regulated. For instance, an individual is chronically ill, it isn’t regulated as to how many times he may purchase the same medication with the same prescription.

- Yes, this idea is acceptable for many, there is nothing to think about here, after all one of the ways of protecting the health of individuals is the sale of medications under prescription only. Let me say, a prescription isn’t something a doctor decides. When the drug is manufactured, it passes an expertise, and in any country it is decided during the registration process whether or not the drug must be sold under prescription. There are drugs which must be sold under prescription only. For example, antibiotics. In many countries antibiotics aren’t sold without prescription, because serious problems might occur in case of negligent administration of antibiotics”, he said.

- Criticizers of the law were against the provision which separates the wholesale and retail trade of medication. What problematic issues are present here?

- We have a provision which prohibits wholesale operators from engaging in retail, and vice versa. We have studied the international market, the question is that wholesale trading must not have anything to do with retail, this differentiation leads to retail pharmacies operating in much more equal conditions”, he said.