Certified firms to import drugs

By LULU MARK
ONLY certified companies will import medicines that are approved by the new PNG Medicine Marketing Authorisation System (MMAS), Health secretary Pascoe Kase, pictured, says.
The launching of MMAS which would strengthen the pharmaceutical regulatory system of the country was witnessed by Kase, World Health Organisation country representative Dr Luo Dapeng and medicine importers in Port Moresby yesterday.
Kase said all the laws that were made to manage medicines were outdated and despite the system being in place for years, it was not effective. Hence, it was reviewed to ensure PNG was on par with the world.
He said according to the law, all medicines brought into the country must meet all the standards.
Kase said with the system, the department would ensure that only medicines of assured safety, efficacy and quality would enter the country by certified importers.
Pharmaceutical companies, he said, came with a lot of experience from overseas to do their business but there were regulatory mechanisms within the country to protect the people and what was brought which they had to comply with.
Kase said despite the lack of infrastructure to test and guarantee the safety and quality of medicines, technical collaboration organisations such as WHO had ensured that everything that were allowed into the country were compliant with standards.
“Medicines are very important products that must be taken care of from manufacturing all the way to where it is going to be used,” he said.
“The Health Department has been working hard over the years to ensure that mechanisms are in place to protect the strength and quality of the medicine at all times.”
Kase said the WHO regional office had made a resolution to enforce and implement a medicine regulation system and PNG was one of the first to be part of it.
The Health Department acting executive manager of medical standards division Dr Duncan Dobunaba said before all medicines were ordered they had to be approved.
The Health secretary urged all the importers to start applying for their certificates. He congratulated Sesago Health Care Ltd on getting the first MMAS certificate.
He said they were looking to all the pharmacy service providers to participate which included City Pharmacy, Borneo Pharmacy, Chemcare, Johnston Pharmaceuticals Trade Link, Tropicana, RSCPA PNG, PNG Medical Suppliers, Pacific Asia Medical Pharmaceuticals, and others.
“If you are importing medicines the law requires you to register,” he said.
He said the registration of medical equipment was something they have to look into because it was required by the law be certified in order to import.