BEIRUT: Health Minister Wael Abu Faour filed lawsuits Thursday against two pharmaceutical companies for overcharging the state for medication used to treat Parkinson’s disease.
According to a statement released by the Health Ministry, Abu Faour sued a pharmaceutical import company named Mectapharm and the famous drug company Pfizer.
Mectapharm and Pfizer issued a joint statement later Thursday saying they respected the laws governing the prices of medicines in Lebanon. The two companies claimed that they had presented all the required documents to alter the prices on a list of drugs registered at the Health Ministry.
Mectapharm and Pfizer said they were ready to respond to all the questions of the concerned authorities, stressing their keenness to “deliver drugs to patients in line with the best international standards.”
According to the law organizing the pharmacy profession, companies are required to report any fall in prices to the ministry when it occurs, the Health Ministry’s statement explained.
Firms must not wait for the regular repricing process held every five years, the report said, because by that time the company would be turning profits at the expense of the state.
The price of Aricept, which is used by Parkinson’s patients, was reduced by 59.4 percent for the 10-milligram version and by 70.53 percent for the 5-milligram pills, the statement said, and the ministry was not notified.
Because the case is related to reporting, Pfizer’s national sales manager for Lebanon, Samer Ramadan, was also referred to the judiciary. The case said the two companies committed “negligence leading to fraud,” and demanded they return the money to the state.
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