Britain’s Crown Agents will not be able to supply three out of 214 pharmaceuticals from the procurement list bought using 2015 national budget funds. There is no alternative to the drugs in Ukraine today.
Crown Agents reported that Lamivudinum (1,200 mg, 69th on the list) would not be bought due to the impossibility of buying it on a competitive basis.
“The only manufacturer that registered this product in Ukraine – GlaxoSmithKline – does not have enough drugs at its warehouse and the volumes requested by the Health Ministry are not enough to launch off-schedule production. The scheduled production at GlaxoSmithKline’s facilities will start in October. The terms of the medicine production do not allow expecting that the supply will be finished this year. The date of completing the supplies is not outlined in the agreement between Crown Agents and the Health Ministry, but we are restricted with Ukrainian budget legislation”, Crown Agents said.
Crown Agents said that according to Ukrainian budget legislation, the company was to settle financial transactions under a request of the Health Ministry in the period when the contract was in effect – within one year.
“Over this period the funds earmarked for procurement are to be spent or returned to the account of the customer. According to the conditions of the contract, all payments to subcontractors are settled as post payments. There is no alternative to this drug in Ukraine”, Crown Agents said.
The company said that item 90 on the list (a set for collecting blood cells with a filter for MCS + devices (to prepare platelet concentrate) would also not be procured. The product is being tested for compliance with technical regulations of Ukraine.
“It will take two or three months to finish the procedure. According to the official distributor, it does not have a chance to present its offer until the required permits are issued. There is no alternative to this set in Ukraine”, the company said.
The agency would not supply item 95 (96-hour infusion filters).
“The only distributor in Ukraine that registered them has no chance to supply the product at the price registered in the tender bid. Now there is no alternative to this product in Ukraine”, Crown Agents said.
As of September 30, Crown Agents has supplied 88.5% of contracted cancer drugs bought using 2015 budget funds. (Interfax/Business World Magazine)
