Cheaper drugs coming soon

PANAMA. Panama will soon move to the production of generic drugs, saving patients and insurance companies substantial costs by offering an equivalent subtitution to brand-name medicines.

The University of Panama (UP) is heading a project to build a laboratory for generics, and plans are advancing.

Enrique Lao, from the university, the mastermind behind the project, said that they are currently looking into locations for the production plant. “We are thinking about three locations, but we think that the building will probably be in Tocumen.”

However, an environment impact study needs to be held to determine the feasibility of the site.

Lao revealed that the first phase of the plan will cost of $6 million, which will be covered by both the University (and thus the state) and a Canadian consortium.

He explained that the money will be used to provide equipment and to jump start the plant.

Lao explained that they are studying which medicines they will produce. This will depend on what the Panamanian market, especially the public sector, requires. Also, generics can only be produced of medicines whose patents have already expired.

What he did know, was that the first stage of the project will only produce tablets and liquids, but no antibiotics.

The UP representative indicated that a strategic allegiance was already formed with the Canadian consortium which produces more than 1,000 generics and they are waiting to finalize the agreements to develop the factory in Panama.

All of the necessary elements for production and quality control have been analyzed.

As for the professionals that will produce the medicines, Lao said that the Faculty of Pharmacy at the university has the needed experts, and the Canadian consortium will also bring experts to jumpstart the project.

Even though he did not go into details about the laboratory’s start date, he did manifest that the construction of the production plant’s building will start before year end.

The production of generics will bring to the market drugs that are identical in dose, strength, route of administration, safety, and efficacy as brand name ones. Once available, they might force original products to sell for cheaper prices as they compete with the low cost generics.