A study by the firm Indesa has confirmed what we all already sensed or knew: that medicines in Panama are expensive, excessively expensive, although there are factors that contribute to this, such as import costs; the near absence of local manufacturers; the size of the market, and the low consumption of generics, for example.

 Indesa reveals that, among the medicines, they studied compared to other countries in the region, acquiring medicines in Panama is, on average, 28% more expensive than in those countries. This study, valuable for its information, should be a point of reference to begin, in earnest, a national policy on import costs; incentives to manufacture medicines locally, and direct efforts to offer professionals for the industry. Panama urgently needs to attend to its needs, instead of promoting more imports, which represent a flight of foreign currency. We have to plan our future, stop improvising and living in anxiety. That is part of our responsibility as a society. Leaving it only in the hands of politicians and the government puts us in the situation we are in now – LA PRENSA, Sep. 10.