CARPHA says Caribbean Regulatory System will help improve … – Jamaica Observer

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) The Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) says the establishment of a Caribbean Regulatory System (CRS) will improve conditions for patients in the region to receive safe, efficacious, high-quality drugs.

Access to safe, efficacious and good-quality drugs is a human right which CARPHA, as the regional public health organisation, is committed to facilitating, CARPHA executive director, Dr James Hospedales, told a capacity building workshop on the regulation of medicines.

CARPHA, in collaboration with the Guyana-based Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat and the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO), established the CRS.

Hospedales explained that the CRS will focus on providing regulatory assurance for essential generic medicines for the region.

Through the CRS, CARPHA will be able to help countries perform functions such as reviewing, approving and monitoring medicines in a timely manner, allowing patients faster access to quality drugs, he said, adding that it would also help to reduce cost of medicines to consumers and the health system, thereby improving accessibility and affordability.

With only five Caricom countries currently conducting a review of safety, quality, and efficacy of drugs, PAHO country representative for Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Bernadette Theodore-Gandi, emphasised the need for strong regulatory systems for medicines.

She said that limited capacity in the regulation of medicines can have several negative results, including the proliferation of substandard and falsified medicines, warning this can injure and kill people.

The CRS is a new value added service provided by CARPHA and endorsed by Caricom ministers of health. It is not intended to replace already established national regulatory authorities, but rather to augment and support them. It will also coordinate reporting and analysis on medicine safety and quality issues within Caricom.

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CARPHA says Caribbean Regulatory System will help improve ... - Jamaica Observer