Building drug safety requires cooperation of many ministries

During a meeting of the Senate Committee on National Defense on April 8 on the functioning of the pharmaceutical industry in emergencies and war, invited guests stressed that only inter-ministerial action can lead to an increase in pharmaceutical production in Poland.

- Legislative support for the pharmaceutical sector and financial incentives to increase production of critical medicines are a key element in the context of strategic health, defense and economic challenges, noted Krzysztof Kopeć, president of National Drug Manufacturers.

- At the moment there are no incentives, so the supply of raw materials for pharmaceutical production comes from imports, because it is economically justified. As long as there are no systemic and legal changes, this situation will not change," informed Paulina Sosin-Ziarkiewicz, deputy director of the Drug Policy Department of the Health Ministry.

Currently, of the approximately 4,500 reimbursable drugs, only 605 are manufactured in Poland, which is only 13 percent, while only 37 are made from substances produced in our country. If the supply of drugs from abroad is blocked, as many as 87 patients out of 100 will not get their reimbursed drug at the pharmacy.

The Health Ministry has prepared a Polish list of critical drugs. Of the 301 drugs on it, 74 are manufactured in Poland, but only six of the active substances are produced in our country.

- We can create lists of critical medicines, only the problem is that until there is real support and concrete money and regulation, nothing will be done with this list. It was created to indicate which medicines are worth paying for and to spread a protective umbrella over their production. As a ministry, we are responsible for medicines, but we feel alone. When we discuss support for the production of critical medicines at the EU level, representatives of other ministries do not want to get involved. And France, for example, is represented by the Ministry of Industry. After all, the Ministry of Health has no say in how business support funds are allocated. We don't deal with the funds. That's why we encourage other ministries to get involved ," urged Paulina Sosin-Ziarkiewicz.

Also, Col. Mariusz Swiderski, deputy director of the Department of Military Health Services, stressed that the most essential element of health system reliability in the course of a hybrid war is the availability of medicines, and the resilience of civilian structures is the first line of defense for modern societies. Also, providing effective security for the army is not possible without a guarantee of medical supplies. - As a frontline country, Poland must build resilience as part of NATO's deterrence strategy, of which drug security is a component. This requires the cooperation of many ministries," he pointed out.

Source: PZPPF