'Involve quality and safety in the discussion about medicines,' says Dutch regulator

The Netherlands’ Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB) believes that the discussion about expensive medicines should not just focus on costs.

Quality and safety for patients are aspects which have not received sufficient attention and which are essential for people's confidence in medicines. The MEB fully understands the public indignation at expensive medicines now and in the future. It also understands that the cheaper pharmacist's preparations may appear to be a solution to this problem.

The MEB is concerned as to whether these kinds of pharmacist's preparations offer patients the same constant quality as is currently the case based on medicines made by certified manufacturers using an approved production process. Certainly in the case of expensive medicines, which often consist of very complex protein compounds, the MEB cannot help but wonder whether it is indeed feasible to come up with a pharmacist's preparation that offers the same level of quality, efficacy and safety.