"Past": The collapse of monopolistic "barriers": How the process of making medicines cheaper will affect 1.3 million citizens
The "Past" newspaper writes: "In international healthcare practice and health economics, the accessibility and pricing of medicines are considered key factors in the standard of living and social security of citizens. High drug prices deal a particularly heavy blow to the most socially vulnerable segments of the population—those with chronic illnesses, pensioners, and low-income families. When essential medicines become financially unaffordable, it not only increases the financial burden on citizens but also directly undermines the effectiveness of the public healthcare system.
In Armenia, this problem has deepened over the years, as existing policies and import mechanisms have failed to ensure the necessary level of competition." In a detailed study, the daily newspaper "Past" highlighted a striking price disparity for the same medications sold in Armenia and neighboring Georgia. Specifically, the prices in Armenia for a range of drugs—including those for cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, gastrointestinal issues, respiratory diseases, as well as antibiotics—are several times higher than those on the Georgian market. For instance, "Metformin Denk," used for diabetes, costs 4,260 drams in Armenia, whereas it sells for 1,590 drams in Georgia; meanwhile, the average price for "Omeprazole" in Armenia reaches 5,360 drams, compared to 1,140 drams in the neighboring country. The press has already reported that, as part of efforts to address this issue, Narek Karapetyan—head of the "Strong Armenia" faction in the National Assembly—met with Petra Dörr, Director of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), during a working visit to Strasbourg. The discussion focused on increasing the availability of high-quality, European-manufactured medicines in Armenia and expanding the range of registered drugs. This would allow for a reduction in prices—bringing them in line with levels seen in Georgia—and enable more than 1.3 million citizens to save hundreds of thousands of drams annually.
This process has been followed by another significant step: Narek Karapetyan, Faction Secretary Tigran Abrahamyan, and MP Harutyun Harutyunyan met with Ambassador Vassilis Maragos, Head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia. The discussion covered, among other topics, planned legislative initiatives and institutional cooperation in the healthcare sector—an area that has recently become a top priority.
Consequently, serious and systematic institutional work is underway to reform the pharmaceutical market. The process involves in-depth discussions with international partners and the alignment of standards with European benchmarks. This approach leaves no loopholes that could be exploited by artificial monopolies or vested interest groups within the pharmaceutical market to obstruct the proposed legislative changes. Opening the issue up for a broad-based discussion creates an opportunity for the citizen of Armenia to emerge as the ultimate winner—by gaining access to high-quality and significantly more affordable medicines.
