Mexican Drug Control "Inadequate"

The Mexican Association of Pharmaceutical Investigation, the AMIIF, hassaid that the country's recent health legislation is insufficient to protect consumers and industry from drugs of dubious quality, particularly imported generics.

The AMIIF claims that generic drugs are not produced in Mexico because the prices of branded drugs in the country are among the lowest in the world. While it says it is not opposed to generics, it is concerned about the presence on the market of products from countries with poor quality control, such as India and China.

The simplifications in the new health law are welcome, says the AMIIF, but it seeks more precise definitions and closer contact with the medical professions over standard products and new introductions, particularly in the case of imports. AMIIF executive director Jaime Santos says that what is needed is a definition of what are generic and interchangeable products.