Algerian Labour Minister Declares War on Foreign Laboratories

Algerian labour minister Tayeb Louh warned foreign laboratories on Thursday against continuing hindering the implementation of the government's policy relating to the consumption of generic medicines in Algeria.”I will use all legitimate means against everyone who wants to defend other services or laboratories to impose expensive medicines in contradiction with the national interest under the pretext of being original,” said Louh. “It is stupid to continue importing expensive original medicines from developed countries while all of them started implementing the policy of generic medicines,” he added.The minister gave the example of Germany in which generic medicines represent 60 percent of its consumption. In Netherlands, generic medicines constitute 80 percent of consumption as well. The consumption of generic medicines in Algeria has led to a sensitive decrease in prices including 100 original medicines, according to Louh. “For example, three of them of wide use: the first one shifted from 1,055 Algerian dinars (DA) to 719 DA. The second medicine went down from 906 DA to 575 DA while the third one shifted from 417 DA to 285 DA.