Crystal Al-Nawar wrote on the mtv website:
In a health and economic disaster, a number of international pharmaceutical companies began to withdraw from Lebanon. Although this reality is not new, it is exacerbated to the extent that it includes large companies.
According to information from the mtv website, an antibiotic known for its strong effect, and commonly used in children, has been cut off from the market today, and the reason is due to the closure of the company’s offices in Lebanon. In light of this reality, doctors resort to prescribing an alternative that is less effective, which requires an increase in the dose to obtain the required medical result.
The source adds that there are many drugs available in the market and they are smuggled from Turkey and elsewhere, and it turns out that some of them are ineffective. For some diseases such as asthma.
The head of the Syndicate of Drug Importers, Karim Jabara, comments on this disaster, saying: “The exit of some international companies from Lebanon is a result of 3 main reasons. It has not been subsidized yet, and this led to the accumulation of debts, which constituted financial pressure on companies that contributed to their withdrawal.”
As for the second reason, it is due to the inability of the amount of subsidized medicines that come to Lebanon to meet all the needs of the Lebanese, and their number has greatly decreased compared to what it was before the crisis, according to what Jabara points out in an interview with mtv. He adds, mentioning that the third reason is the collapse of the guarantors, which made unsubsidized medicines out of the purchasing power of most Lebanese, as a result of the collapse of the health sector and the difficulties it faces.
And Jabara continues, “For all these basic reasons, there are international pharmaceutical companies that withdrew from Lebanon, closed their offices, or greatly reduced many of their offices.” However, he affirms that “closing the offices of these companies does not mean stopping the shipment of medicine, but the paradox here is that Lebanon is no longer a priority for them, as before.”
With regard to the loss of a certain type of antibiotics and a medicine for the treatment of asthma in the market, Jabara points out that “the company has accumulated debts that have not been paid, which makes it difficult for it to send a large amount of medicines to Lebanon because it has financial conditions for that, and this matter led to the absence of stock.” sufficient to meet the needs of patients.
He stresses that there is a global crisis affecting antibiotics and a drug for the treatment of asthma, and it is not only a Lebanese crisis, “but Lebanon was greatly affected by the absence of sufficient stocks of them.”
The problem of medicines in general is divided into two parts, Jbara explains, saying: “The amount of subsidized medicine that comes to Lebanon is insufficient for patients because the funds available for support are not sufficient to cover all needs. This shortage created a need for a black market and smuggling, and part of it has unfortunately become a counterfeit market,” pointing out. He added, “There is a large amount of counterfeit medicine in the market today, and we inform the Ministry of Health about it, and we warn people to pay close attention while buying medicine and to check the source, when it is not from a company that is imported in a regular manner.”
As for the second part, it is unsubsidized medicines, “They are available in general, taking into account exceptional cases such as technical and financial problems resulting from financial burdens inherited since the days of subsidies. However, these medicines have several alternatives that can be resorted to after consulting the doctor in order to determine the most appropriate type according to the situation. The problem is there It lies in its high price because it is not subsidized.
The alarm sounded.. In order not to get worse, Jabara appealed to “pay the bills due to international drug companies, as soon as possible, to avoid falling into the same problem with other drugs.”
