Official and union moves to address electronic drug trade in Egypt
The Egyptian Ministry of Health’s announcement of several seizures of medicines in violation of quality standards, opened the door to demands by government and union agencies to stop the electronic circulation of medicines through applications that sell them directly to citizens without passing them through regular pharmacies, which is in violation of the procedures followed. The Pharmacists Syndicate submitted an official communication to the Public Prosecutor, calling for the suspension of a television advertisement for one of these electronic applications, claiming that it violated health rules in the advertisement, as well as promoting medicines via the Internet, which threatens the pharmacy profession and allows a back door to sell drugs not placed under official control. A threat to the citizen For his part, Dr. Mohamed El-Sheikh, head of the Cairo Pharmacists Syndicate, said that electronic applications that sell medicines directly without going through licensed sales outlets such as pharmacies, represent a threat to the life of the Egyptian citizen, especially since these applications and their medicines cannot be controlled and their source is unknown. In his speech to "Sky News Arabia", Sheikh confirmed that the Pharmaceutical Control Authority has always maintained its emphasis on market control, especially since pharmaceutical security is one of the security Citizens and their health, and this came as a result of the recent crisis after the arrest of an international cell smuggling drugged drugs into Egypt through France, and its repetition from many countries. electronic applications The idea of electronic pharmaceutical marketing started early, as this was done by registering doctors’ websites and providing access to them by citizens instead of consuming the time and effort of searching on the ground, until the matter developed and the same electronic applications, which reached 7 in the Egyptian market, sell medicines electronically. The crisis itself clearly started with the contract of the “Ibn Sina Pharma” company, known for distributing medicine to pharmacies, with one of these electronic applications to sell medicines directly to the public. back gate Hani Sameh, a pharmacist and a lawyer specializing in health issues, pointed out that these applications are a back door to the promotion of unlicensed medicines, especially since they are not subject to any control, as it is possible to allow the sale of medicines listed in the drug schedule, which are the medicines prohibited from being circulated in Egypt except according to procedures followed. Sameh, in turn, submitted a complaint earlier against these electronic applications, demanding their cancellation by a judicial decision, but these cases are still taking their course in the judicial branch, as he confirmed to "Sky News Arabia" that the financial return also returns to the owners of these electronic applications only, and they do not return The citizen or the government, due to the absence of standards for their control and payment of government taxes and fees. Everyone has a phone Exploiting electronic applications to sell medicines, the availability of the smartphone in the hands of every citizen, and thus the ease of displaying its advantages to him without any effort, as it provides health information to the patient, side effects of customized medicines, cosmetics, and drug prices, in addition to a 24-hour delivery service. The same thing made these applications popular, and the electronic application contracted by “Ibn Sina Pharma” reached a deal estimated at 25 million Egyptian pounds, before the company retracted the deal, due to the boycott of the Pharmacists Syndicate and a wide sector of pharmacists in the governorates for their fear that the applications would replace them. e. A future is at stake The volume of electronic drug trade worldwide is approximately $300 billion, according to Dr. Mahfouz Ramzy, head of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Committee of the Pharmacists Syndicate, where the percentage of drugs sold electronically relative to corrupt drugs is calculated annually, which explains why official and union authorities in Egypt reject this type of treatment. Trading. Mahfouz confirmed in his speech to "Sky News Arabia" that the matter is related to the future of pharmacists as well, especially in this way, it will turn the matter into a monopoly, and allow intruders to the profession, as the company's role will stop when importing medicine, and then the role of the pharmacist disappears with time and the market for fraudulent medicine increases. The Ministry of Health and Population in Egypt had submitted a communication to the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, calling for a ban on broadcasting a television advertisement for an electronic application, the broadcast of which coincides with the ministry's ongoing campaigns to prevent the circulation of unlicensed medicines.
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