The mechanism for approving and registering the producer prices of medicines will be amended. The MPs gave a first reading to a bill that contains clear clauses that limit prices with the aim of avoiding unjustified rises, IPN reports.

The bill provides that direct negotiations will be held with producers or holders of the medical registration certificate or the official representative of this, by excluding the lowest price. Analyses showed that the lowest price is usually not in correlation with the real situation in the countries of reference in the case of most of the drugs. The mechanism of negotiations is introduced with the aim of setting the drug prices in a fair, transparent and accessible way for Moldova’s population, as the Government argued.

“We must ensure access to the domestic drugs market and spare patients from going abroad to look for medicines. As a result of negotiations, the company lowers the price as it is interested in being added to the list of medicines, many of which are subsidized by the state,” explained Minister of Health Ala Nemerenco.

According to her, the prices of medicines in 2022 grew by 3.5%, much below the inflation rate.

The bill says the Moldovan pharmaceutical market faces a shortage of registered medicines. The State Nomenclature of Drugs contains about 4,000 products, as opposed to 8,000 medicines the previous years.