Denmark Considers Importing Medications from Thailand and Asia to Cut Costs

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Denmark is exploring the possibility of importing medications from Thailand, India, and China to provide its citizens with more affordable pharmaceutical options, according to a report by Scandasia.

 

The initiative aims to broaden the range of medications available to Danes at potentially lower prices. However, it has sparked heated debate within Denmark and internationally.

 

The Danish Pharmacy Association and the Danish Medicines Agency have raised concerns that the plan could compromise consumer safety. They warn that importing medications from Asia could make it easier to purchase drugs online without proper quality control.

Critics stress the importance of maintaining stringent checks to ensure the efficacy of medications, despite the fact that many Asian manufacturers adhere to international standards.

 

India and China are key global players in the pharmaceutical industry, producing a large share of the world’s generic drugs. Thailand, with its expanding pharmaceutical sector, is also increasingly supplying international markets, reported The Nation.

 

Supporters of the initiative argue that leveraging these vast Asian markets could reduce costs and improve access for Danish consumers. The outcome of Denmark’s discussions may influence other European countries considering similar strategies to diversify pharmaceutical imports.

 

Top FILE photo courtesy: Wikimedia

 

-- 2024-09-30

 

 

[hotchilli]

How is Siam Bioscience coming along with the Covid vaccine?

[john donson]

denmark? really?  with that ozempic producer that now earns more than the whole GDP of the country, they don't pay taxes

 

fake medicine have a higher cost

 

how come the government, wanting cheaper drugs, NOT MAKE THEM ITSELF ?

 

specially for life saving meds like insulin..

 

big pharma is getting way out of control, only profits for shareholders

 

looking forward if the prediction that medicare will fail in 2026 in the us is real... due to sky rocketing racketeering costs 

[Purdey]

They probably can't get anyone to produce for the domestic market due to the small size of the Danish market. Sourcing for low cost medicine from abroad doesn't mean the quality will decline as they would usually have a domestic FDA type of organization to approve medicines after checking them.

[AndreasHG]

25 minutes ago, Purdey said:

They probably can't get anyone to produce for the domestic market

Really? Produce for the domestic market? Are you aware that Denmark is part of the EU and any medicine sold anywhere in the EU can be sold in Denmark?

 

Wholesalers must not receive or buy medicines from non-EU/EEA countries (third countries) nor handle intermediate products (laegemiddelstyrelsen.dk)

[AndreasHG]

This article sounds a bit like BS to me. The EU has long time ago established a common medicine market.

 

If Denmark intends to import medicines from Asia, firstly it has to obtain the EMA's approval (it's the European equivalent of the FDA's approval), which not only pertains the pharmacological composition of the medicine, but also the compliance of the manufacturing processes and of manufacturer's organization.

 

Secondly, once the medicine is approved, it becomes available not only to Danish consumers, but to all consumers within the area where the EMA's approval is legally binding (the EU Member States as well as in the European Economic Area (EEA) countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).

 

The process is quite straightforward:

Authorisation of medicines | European Medicines Agency (EMA) (europa.eu)

[PETERTHEEATER]

They should check Thai imports carefully for flour.......😋

[retarius]

Will; drive up the prices of medicines in Thailand. The Thai government must do two things 1) develop the ridiculously priced generic market for multi source products....but from China/India from FDA inspected plants 2) stop pharmaceutical being exported to keep prices down (Thai made products as well as import for re-export.)

[Purdey]

9 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

Really? Produce for the domestic market? Are you aware that Denmark is part of the EU and any medicine sold anywhere in the EU can be sold in Denmark?

 

Wholesalers must not receive or buy medicines from non-EU/EEA countries (third countries) nor handle intermediate products (laegemiddelstyrelsen.dk)

Obviously the price is higher within the EU.

[digbeth]

some drugs here are cheaper due to compulsory licensing, is Denmark poor enough to qualify that they can't otherwise pay the pharma company propely for a license? 

[NativeBob]

No have enough professionals to manage production. 

[Patong2021]

There is most likely a misunderstanding and miscommunication. Typically, pharmaceutical companies import the API and not the finished drug. (API-Active pharmaceutical ingredient).  The API is then used at a fabricator that is European certified  and sent to an European certified packager. The API supplier must be European certified. If a finished drug is imported, it will be for a generic, non complex product and it will be delivered in bulk, It must still come from a European certified supplier. 

 

Most of the EU imports come from the EU itself followed by the USA, India, China and to a lesser extent the UK and Israel.  Because of China's inability to honour supply contracts during Covid, many western countries have tried to reduce  supply contracts that come from China and have invested in local production. However, the reality is that some drugs are  just too expensive to manufacture in bulk compared to China. For example, much of the world's aspirin is manufactured in China.

[Purdey]

3 hours ago, digbeth said:

some drugs here are cheaper due to compulsory licensing, is Denmark poor enough to qualify that they can't otherwise pay the pharma company propely for a license? 

So, why do they want cheaper drugs?