A parliamentary committee questioned, Monday, December 18, 2023, the Algerian Minister of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production, Ali Aoun, on the problems of drug shortages in hospitals, particularly those related to the treatment of chronic diseases and the scarcity of other types of drugs in pharmacies.
Parliament’s Health and Social Affairs Committee held a special session to discuss the medicines crisis. Thus, the representatives asked Minister Aoun to provide clarification on the justifications for the shortage of certain drugs intended for oncological diseases, particularly in the regions of southern Algeria.
In this regard, he also mentioned the problem of the delay in granting licenses to import medicines, in addition to the measures taken to combat monopolies and conditional sales adopted by some laboratories, the control of the quality and effectiveness of locally manufactured medicines, and the problem of the closure and shutdown of pharmaceutical factories in certain governorates. /span>
Production of diabetes drugs
In response to questions from parliamentarians on the problem of insulin shortage, the minister indicated that Algeria has indeed started producing insulin locally. They explained that “the actual production of insulin pens was carried out by a national complex with a cam model for one of the types of insulin, the importation of which cost around 100 million euros. Knowing that the government company Sidal has started producing insulin in vial form; in addition to licensing a multinational complex to manufacture insulin pens. This will reduce the bill: imports amount to around 44 million euros and 17 million euros for patient compensation.
Concerning the shortage recorded on the local market in terms of dental anesthetics, Ali Aoun made direct accusations against a foreign laboratory (French in this case), which held the monopoly on the supply of the anesthetic and was trying to blackmail the Algerian market by imposing a new price by increasing it from five to 15 euros. He indicated that the government refused this and created other alternatives that made it possible to provide sufficient quantities. Five million doses of anesthetic have been provided in the last three months.
Local production of medicines covers 70% of needs
Ali Aoun reassured during MPs’ questioning that progress had been made in controlling market needs for medicines, thanks to the development of local production. Specifying that data on the market and availability of medicines in Algeria reveal that local production covers up to 70% of internal needs, as it has increased.
The number of medicines included in local production chains is 3,327, out of 4,544 medicines registered in the National Pharmaceutical Code, where 300 medicines have been registered and are now produced locally compared to 2022. While the number of institutions of the pharmaceutical industry reaches 203, including 189 production sites and 14 production sites by handling.
The minister believes that the development of the local pharmaceutical industrial fabric, especially since the Covid-19 crisis, has prompted the government to focus on the development of the production of medicines, in particular those supplied from abroad, and to revive the raw materials industry so that pharmaceutical and health sovereignty is guaranteed.
