Former Minister of Health, Labour and Social Protection, Ala Nemerenco, said that the draft law to ensure that all drugs sold in Moldova contain packaging and prospectuses in two languages will lead to the withdrawal of a large number of drugs from the pharma market and will drive up prices.  Ala Nemerenco has posted a comment in this regard on her Facebook page.

According to Ala Nemerenco, the market, being very small, often does not require the placement of an entire industrial series. In this case, foreign companies that bring drugs to Moldova will have to produce special series for us, with a prospectus in Romanian and Russian, or repackage the drugs already imported for the inclusion of Russian prospectuses.

When the prospectus information is voluminous, cost will be driven up by the need to create a larger package. As a result, importers will be forced to take responsibility for the packing stage, which implies compliance with good manufacturing practices (premises, equipment, qualified human resources, etc.). As a result, a shortage of drugs will occur on the market, while some drugs will disappear. Additionally, drug prices will rise.

Medicines issued on the basis of medical prescription, medicines for hospital use, medicines for special therapy and for rare diseases that are imported in a very limited number and are currently accepted with information provided in other languages, are facing the risk of withdrawal from the market. Medicines that use the common pharmaceutical market with Romania, about 20% of all authorized drugs, may also be withdrawn, said Ala Nemerenco.

The former minister considers that solutions for increasing access to information about medicine for patients who speak languages other than Romanian exist and are simple and cheap, while not requiring legislative intervention.

The Socialist Party has put forward a bill that stipulates that all medicines sold in pharmacies in Moldova must contain a prospectus in the "Moldovan language" and in the Russian language. Additionally, verbal information about products and services should be communicated to consumers in "Moldovan" and Russian by pharmacists.