Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists on lifting of ban on exports of medicines

The Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists on Tuesday expressed its strong opposition to a decision of the National Organisation for Medicines to lift an export ban for 137 drugs in pharmaceutical categories such as anticoagulants, insulin, anti-epileptics, anti-psychotics, cardiological and respiratory medications, and drugs for οsteoporosis and glaucoma.

Most of these drugs are non-generic medicines that have repeatedly disappeared from the Greek market, precisely because of a practice of parallel trade, they pointed out.

Additionally, "with the specific decision, there is a lifting of the ban on the export of childrens' vaccines that for many years were protected from exports. We are totally opposed to this decision as we consider that it will bring back the citizens' insecurity and anxiety about whether they will have access to their prescribed treatment, as we believe that within a short time these medicines will vanish from our pharmacies, as up until now most of them we get them with partial orders and in very limited quantities from wholesalers," pharmacists said.

AMNA