GCC drug guidelines in focus

SALALAH, JULY 8 - The GCC Central Committee for Drug Registration on Monday started review of guidelines for regulations related to central drug registration, updates on the drug registration list and suspension, and withdrawal and cancellation of pharmaceuticals based on reports from competent committees. The review also included issues like risk analysis mechanism of the pharmaceutical factories, pharmaceutical manufacturers and requests for registration of medicines submitted to the central registry.

Holding its 92nd meeting here, the committee is working on a tight agenda to be finalised during two days — Monday and Tuesday — and is likely to come out with important recommendations. Dr Khalid al Mushekhi, Director General of Health Service in Dhofar, attended the meeting along with Dr Hajed bin Mohammed al Hajdi, Deputy Director of Health Council in the GCC, and Dr Mohammed bin Hamdan al Rubaie, Director General of Directorate of Pharmacy and Drug Control at the Ministry of Health. GCC countries have sent their representatives, mostly the committee members, to attend the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, Dr Al Mushekhi welcomed the members of the committee, stressing that the meeting carries an important message to the GCC countries, especially the Council of Ministers of Health. Commenting on the important role of the committee, Dr Al Rubaie said, “The work of this committee is to activate the decisions of the Council of Ministers of Health in the GCC countries.” He put stress on the fact that the main objectives of the central registration system was ensuring safe, effective, quality and cost appropriate supply of medicines through the standardisation of registration and regulations.

He called for standard registration procedures for pharmaceutical companies and their products in the GCC and follow-up medicines for post-marketing in terms of quality and safety and monitoring their adverse effects. Early warning system, according to him, is another advantage of a unified drug registration system, which works for the withdrawal of any drug found to be harmful in any of the member countries.

“Creation of a standardised database accessible by the health workers is also an effective tool in this regard. The system also provides the cost of registration and analysis by mutual recognition of the results of laboratories being done by any of the member countries.

Dr Hajed al Hajdi said since its establishment in 2000 the central registration set an example by becoming an example of the success of the Gulf experience in terms of coordination among the member states regarding the safety of pharmaceutical products.