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Whether this anticipated price reduction is ambitious cannot be judged at this point but what is certain however that with many players participating openly in this trade , prices will drop owing to fierce competition that will result thereby benefiting the end user .
While many products can be imported through parallel channels , it is anticipated that majority of products to be imported will mainly be those drugs that are used to manage lifestyle diseases such as cancer , diabetes , hypertension and other diseases considered costly to treat .
Explaining the proposed procedures for parallel importation of pharmaceuticals , Dr . Toroitich emphasizes that the drugs will be imported by pharmacists licensed to trade as wholesalers by the PPB . These pharmacists will undergo vetting by the Board and once credibility and reliability of their sources is ascertained , the board will grant them authorization to import the drugs from the registered sources .
Parallel importers will be expected to adhere to high levels of standards with regards to quality , packaging , as well as appropriate labels meeting requirements expected of pharmaceutical products .
Other benefits expected to accrue following the implementation of the parallel importation policy is reduction of temptation for counterfeits due to diminished returns attributed to the reduction in prices . This is because many believe that counterfeits come in to take advantage of high prices charged
24 November-December 2016