What next for medicine regulation?

Now that politics has got in the way of commonsense and led to the demise of the planned joint Australia New Zealand Therapeutic Products Authority, the Government must explain what it is going to do to streamline the approval of pharmaceutical products in New Zealand, says the New Zealand Medical Association.

The proposed joint authority aimed to protect the health and safety of New Zealanders and Australians through the regulation of prescription and non-prescription medicines, complementary medicines, and medical devices.

The vast majority of the public lobbying over this legislation focussed solely on complementary medicines, but this in reality was only a small part of the proposal, said NZMA Chairman Dr Peter Foley.

New Zealand processes to regulate medicines are outdated and cannot cope with demand. For example, at present Medsafe takes 700 days to approve new medicines.

New Zealand does not currently require medical device or complementary medicine suppliers to show that their products are safe and effective before they can be sold. This is out of step with international best practice and means that action is only taken after problems are detected.

“The NZMA calls on the Government to tell the medical profession and others what it is going to do now to streamline the pharmaceutical approval system in New Zealand. And what approach will it be taking for the regulation of complementary medicines in New Zealand?” Dr Foley said.

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