Lebanon’s Health Ministry has referred a file on 6 cancer medicines in circulation to the Public Prosecution at the Court of Cassation for investigation, amid debate over their quality, effectiveness and manufacturing sources. The parliamentary Health Committee is preparing to hear from the health minister as part of Parliament’s oversight of matters related to citizens’ health.
She added that reports of possible medicines failing to meet standards had increased her concerns. She called for tighter oversight and guarantees that patients receive their prescribed treatment, with the source, composition and effectiveness of any alternative medicine clearly stated.
Official medicines versus the unlicensed market
Doctor and Lebanese Parliament Health Committee member Abdul Rahman al-Zari said the state has for years worked to provide some treatments for serious diseases under protocols prepared in coordination with oncologists. Manufacturers and drug sources change according to the results of procurement tenders. Al-Zari called for a distinction between medicines imported by the state through official channels, which he described as suitable and of good quality, and drugs reaching the market through unofficial means at lower prices.
He said the quality and effectiveness of medicines that do not pass through approved regulatory channels cannot be guaranteed. Pharmacist Carol Dib, treasurer of the pension fund at the Order of Pharmacists, described Lebanon’s pharmaceutical market as “chaotic,” attributing this to the crises the country has experienced, particularly the subsidy crisis and shortages of some medicines. This opened the way for smuggled drugs to enter outside official channels.
Order of Pharmacists denies confirmed problems with legitimate medicines
Dib said no problem has so far been proven with medicines that entered Lebanon legally and were registered and approved by the Health Ministry.
She stressed that the country of origin alone is insufficient to assess a medicine’s quality, whether it was made in India, Iran or elsewhere. The assessment depends on manufacturing and registration standards, effectiveness, transport and storage conditions, and regulatory procedures. Dib warned patients against buying medicines from unlicensed sources, as their origin and the conditions in which they were transported and stored cannot be verified in such cases.
She noted that detecting reduced effectiveness in some cancer treatments may not be immediate because treatment can continue for long periods. The Health Ministry has made an electronic tool available that allows patients to scan the code on a medicine package to verify that it entered Lebanon through legal channels. The dispute over the six types will be resolved based on the findings of the judicial investigation referred by the ministry.
