Pharmacy crisis cured

By Gihan Shahine

The legislation, signed into law by President Hosni Mubarak, imposes a fine ranging between LE20,000 and LE50,000 on pharmacists who sell, display or manufacture medicines, chemicals or medical products which are not registered with the Ministry of Health. If the offence is repeated, the fine is doubled to between LE40,000 and LE100,000. A provision stipulating a jail sentence for a repeated offence was dropped from the legislation before it was passed by the People's Assembly. However, running an unlicensed pharmacy remains punishable by one year's imprisonment and a LE5,000 fine.

Sallam's two decrees provided much-needed clarification on the legislation. Pharmacists had complained that the law was vague with regards to the sale of medical products such as cotton and gauze, which are not registered with the Health Ministry. Sallam made it clear that such products, as well as cosmetics, do not require registration. But products that penetrate the human body -- syringes and medical cords -- must, according to the first decree, be registered. The second decree allows for the sale of medicines, chemicals and medical products which are not banned by the ministry, regardless of whether they are registered. Sallam said he would make public a list of all banned medicines and pharmaceutical products.

According to Mahmoud Abdel-Maksoud, the syndicate's secretary-general, pharmacists were satisfied with Sallam's decrees. "They [the decrees] have resolved a dispute which had run into a dead-end," he said.

At an extraordinary general assembly of the syndicate, pharmacists had expressed hope that Mubarak would revoke the legislation or send it back to the People's Assembly for modification. The president, however, signed the legislation into law.

Pharmacists have been up-in-arms since the legislation gained the assembly's approval. In protest, a syndicate general assembly directed pharmacists to stop ordering fresh supplies from pharmaceutical companies over a two-month period. The decision led to an acute shortage of medicine on the domestic market and reportedly cost pharmaceutical companies LE70 million in losses in just one week.

At a second general assembly, pharmacists put the boycott on hold. When the legislation was passed, a second boycott was considered. The crisis was resolved by Sallam's decrees.

Sallam also announced that the importing of medicines not banned by the ministry and under its supervision will be allowed. A committee will be formed to decide on the medicines that need to be imported, he said.

Twenty-five new medicines were registered with the ministry last week. The ministry has reportedly registered and set prices for 1,524 medicines during the past two years.