There's a very long list of prescription drugs which pharmacies are having a hard time getting unto their shelves after the imposition of strict new labelling standards by the Ministry of Health. And it is having an effect on those who need these products for their everyday health and wellbeing.
The dispute is mostly about a certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice. We told you about this last year, when the Ministry made it a requirement in the law. Because of how international pharmaceutical distribution is structured, this certificate is sometimes difficult or impossible to come by because the manufacturer is not the distributor of the product.
Because of this, Brodies has a shipment of pharmaceutical products imported form Turkey that they say have been stuck at the airport for 9 weeks. They have offered to re-label the products to meet the requirement - but to no avail. The company, which is one of Belize; biggest importers is now considering the possibility that it may have to discard and destroy the drugs.
According to Brodies, if you are taking any of these drugs, "either you will have difficulty in obtaining them, or you will pay a much higher price - if you can source them."
We hope to have a response from the Ministry tomorrow.
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