PERU ISSUES NEW GENERICS-FRIENDLY ESSENTIAL DRUGS LIST

Peru has published a new essential drugs list, expected to increase the market penetration of generics in the country. The new list includes 365 active principles, covering 577 products and 27 therapeutic groups. It will apply to all public health agencies purchasing drugs, which account for nearly half of the country's health spending.

Significantly, Peru publishes its essential medicines list according to active ingredient rather than by brand name. A number of Latin American producers of "generics" of unproven bioequivalence are reported to have entered the Peruvian market in recent months, as regulatory conditions tighten in their domestic markets.

However, the authorities in Peruvian capital Lima have recently instituted a positive reform, banning on-the-street sales of pharmaceuticals. The measure replaces municipal legislation introduced in 2003, and could eventually lead to a better regulated market, especially as copy drugs of dubious origin and counterfeit products are becoming a serious problem in Peru.