'Govn’t must take strong action against pharma rebates'

Korean Pharmacists for Democratic Society issues statement

“Rebate is a serious crime that threatens health insurance finances and patient safety"

The Korean Pharmacists for Democratic Society (President Gyeong-rim Jeon, KPDS) has urged the government to take strong action against pharmaceutical company rebates.

 

KPDS issued a statement regarding rebates made by a major domestic pharmaceutical company that JTBC reported.

 

In the statement, KPDS said, “This is not an individual incident, but clear evidence of widespread illegal rebates rampant throughout the pharmaceutical industry.

 

“Medicines prescribed by doctors are not ordinary commodities, but special goods that directly affect patients' lives and health.

 

The Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and Medical Service Act fundamentally prohibit pharmaceutical companies from providing economic benefits to medical professionals.” However, according to the JTBC report, the pharmaceutical company in question blatantly violated legal restrictions.

 

The KPDS criticized, “What is even more outrageous is the government authorities' incompetent response to these clear illegal acts.

 

Using a shortage of personnel as an excuse to avoid addressing the issue raises suspicions that there may be an intent to cover up the incident.” They went on to say, “The explanation that this was a legitimate new drug promotion activity is a clear lie, and the government must immediately implement strong measures to eradicate illegal rebates.” In other words, the KPDS believes the MOHW and the police must reinvestigate the case and severely punish those involved.

 

The KPDS proposed the following measures: ▲reinvestigation through the formation of a special investigation team; ▲a comprehensive investigation by the MOHW into the provision of financial benefits such as support for academic conferences, lecture fees, and consulting fees; and ▲strong administrative measures such as drug price reductions when illegal rebates are detected.

 

They emphasized, “We can no longer tolerate the illegal rebate cartel that threatens the health insurance budget and public health.

 

The government must use this incident as an opportunity to demonstrate its firm commitment to eradicating illegal rebates in the pharmaceutical industry.”