Bulgaria needs laws that keep generic and biosimilar medicines on the market, said Prof. Kostadin Angelov, chair of parliament's health committee. He spoke at the opening of a forum marking 25 years since the Bulgarian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (BGPharmA) was founded.
Angelov said the laws on medicines change all the time, with no aim or direction. This makes the market hard to predict, and some medicines risk vanishing from it. "Our duty is to stop this process and start thinking not politically, but strategically," he said.
He called for "legislation that encourages these medicines to stay in our country, rather than legislation that drives them out". He said there is no political split in the health committee and that all its members are united on people's access to medicines.
The committee chair said the generic drug industry makes up 3% of Bulgaria's GDP. He called it a sector that shapes the economy, and said the state should treat it in a special way and back the sector's ideas.
Angelov said every country relies on generic and biosimilar medicines to treat socially significant diseases, which are a leading cause of death. Bulgaria has the highest rates of illness and death from these diseases in the EU, he said. He added that even the richest countries use generics, because they give the best balance of price and effect.
BGPharmA chair Nikolay Hadzhidonchev said the association has fought for 25 years for access to quality treatment for Bulgarian patients. He said it is now a reliable partner for the authorities in providing affordable, quality healthcare with generic and biosimilar medicines.
Hadzhidonchev added that the sector faces serious problems, and that the authorities and business must solve them together.
The forum, "Generic and biosimilar medicines – a guarantee of lasting access to treatment", is held under the patronage of parliament's health committee.