Senator calls for clarity on cost of drugs overhaul

Independent Senator Andrew Niles has backed plans to modernise the pharmaceutical regulatory system but has called for greater transparency on the cost of the overhaul, warning that the ambitious reforms will require significant public investment.

Senator Niles was speaking during debate on the Barbados Medical Products Bill in the Senate on Wednesday, where he described the bill to establish the Barbados Medical Products Authority (BMPA), as a positive step forward but raised important questions about financing.

“The bill is absolutely fantastic. I can’t fault it,” he said. “I really would love to see a profit and loss statement, a balance sheet and a cash flow statement as it relates to this entire transformation of the medical pharmaceutical component of this country.”

The BMPA is intended to function as an autonomous regulatory authority responsible for overseeing the manufacture of medicines, medical devices and other health products used in Barbados, while also supporting the island’s ambitions to expand pharmaceutical production.

Senator Niles suggested the initiative would require significant capital investment from the government and that Barbadians deserved a clearer understanding of the financial commitments involved.

“Like everything else, this is going to require a significant amount of capital input by the government,” he said.

He pointed to ongoing challenges within the Barbados Drug Service, arguing that existing issues with the availability of medications highlight the importance of understanding how the new framework will be funded and sustained.

“We as a people understand the issues that we currently have with the drug service,” Senator Niles said, noting that patients are often forced to seek alternative brands or purchase medications privately when certain drugs are unavailable through the public system.

The independent lawmaker said he wanted to know the true cost of establishing the new regulatory and manufacturing framework and how government intends to recover or offset those expenses.

“I really would love to see what it really would cost the country in terms of the capital input that it has to put into this project,” he said. “It may not be beyond us, but it is a point of conversation as it relates to how we will move that forward.”

Senator Niles also cautioned that Barbados would face stiff international competition if it succeeds in developing a pharmaceutical manufacturing industry geared towards exports.

“As you get into manufacturing of pharmaceutical drugs or pharmaceutical products for export, you’re going to come up against the weight of all weight in this world,” he said, referencing major pharmaceutical markets and manufacturers in countries including the United States, Canada, Germany, England, India and several African nations.

“So we got to understand what that’s going to cost us and how we’re going to get there.”

(SB)