Battling the high cost of medicines in Panama
Retirees living in Panama form a significant part of the medicine purchasing community in a medicine market worth $307 million a year. But 90% comes from international pharmaceutical companies and only the remaining 10% from local sources.

The biggest challenges faced by domestic enterprises are the obstacles in importing raw materials, skilled labor, and delays in the registration process, among other things. "... This makes the domestic industry less competitive compared with international laboratories which bring in to the country finished products or those ready for packaging." Reports Martesfinanciero.com

Luz Marina Pardo, manager of commercial operations at Medipan, founded with Panamanian capital, told Martesfinanciero.com that "...We do not buy from manufacturers, but from intermediaries. If the intermediary is in the United States, but the product comes from China, you must apply for a certificate of origin in Tokyo, because Panama has no commercial relationship with China. This whole process results in higher costs for laboratories, and added to this is the time it takes to complete the whole process."

"...Pharmaceutical companies believe that the Panamanian Department of Pharmacies and Drug at the MoH should allow a single registration to be made for imported materials, valid for several years, rather than carrying out the process every time the product comes in."