Cyprus’ Generic Industry is a true success story

Generic medicinal product manufacturing is a vibrant sector contributing significantly to the industrial output of Cyprus, stressed on Monday Minister of Health Christos Patsalides.
Speaking during a workshop of Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation about EU’s Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry and Cyprus’ Pharmaceutical Industry, Patsalides pointed out Cyprus’ accession to the European Union in 2004 has opened many windows of opportunity to expand the generic industry’s activities.
“In answering the calls of the times, the generic industry has invested greatly in improving the quality of its products as well as expanding the markets it serves”, he said.
He added that Cyprus’ generic medicinal product industry represents a true success story that has contributed immensely to the provision of medicinal products of excellent quality at low cost.
“Generic medicinal products have eased the financial burden of our healthcare system and enhanced the availability of essential medicines to the public”, said the Minister, adding that generic manufacturers go about their business with a great sense of responsibility as stakeholders and have proven beneficial to society.
Furthermore, the Minister of Health welcomed European Commission’s “Pharmaceutical Package” which includes legislative measures to prevent the entry into the legal supply chain of falsified medicinal products, the strengthening and rationalizing of the Community pharmaco-vigilance system and the information on medicinal products made available to the public.
“Cyprus”, said Patsalides “is actively and vigorously participating in the ongoing discussions at the Working Party on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices”.
The Minister pointed out that pharmaco-vigilance is an important tenet of the continuous evaluation of the safety of medicinal products and that the Commission’s proposal to strengthen and rationalise the existing system of pharmacovigilance, addresses the shifting needs of society to fine tune the safety evaluation of medicinal products throughout their life cycle.
He also explained that the regulation of medicinal products would not be complete if there were no provisions for the information directed towards patients and he reiterated Cypruss’ objection to the direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicinal products.