In continuation of its plans to overcome the drug shortage crisis, which has surfaced in the past months, the Ministry of Health has added a new title to these plans, represented in its approval of drugs used in the fight against chronic diseases, to provide the most appropriate health care for patients, reduce the rates of their sending for treatment abroad, and mitigate, thus on the Ministry’s general budget and public funds.
The Ministry of Health has recently approved a new drug for the treatment of breast cancer, which works to improve the quality of life, especially for those suffering from an advanced stage of the disease, reports Al-Qabas daily.
In its endeavor to overcome the crisis of shortage of medicines and medical supplies, which made headlines during the past months, the Ministry of Health took a new step in the way of eliminating the crisis, as informed sources revealed that the ministry registered and approved modern medicines used in combating chronic diseases, with the aim of providing the most appropriate health care for patients in facilities, reduce the rates of their scholarships for treatment abroad, and reduce the general budget of the ministry and the state.
The sources told Al-Qabas that among the medicines that were approved and registered locally and started to be used with patients, is a new medicine used to treat breast cancer patients at the Kuwait Cancer Control Center and its affiliated centers, especially for those with advanced stages of the disease, so that it improves their quality of life through a sample with the help of a ‘needle’ — taken once every three or four weeks, or during intervals as determined by the attending physician.
The sources confirmed that the new drug was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last August, and it is intended for patients with advanced breast cancer, which is difficult to remove surgically, or has spread a lot inside the body, indicating that clinical trials have proven that the drug doubles the period of time that a woman can live with the disease, with no further progression.
The sources added that the Ministry of Health approved and registered the drug about 3 months ago, and it was found to be effective in patients with breast cancer, which necessitated ministry officials to request additional doses for about 250 patients, and the value of one ‘needle’ is about 1000 dinars.
The sources said that the drug is not considered a cure for all cases of breast cancer, but rather contributes to enhancing the chances of response to treatment, due to its ability to limit the spread of the disease in the body.
On the other hand, the sources pointed out that the Ministry of Health is working to accelerate the pace of the documentary cycle of requests for medicines and medical supplies, to ensure that the level of health care is not affected in public centers and hospitals, and to eliminate any problems related to the lack of availability of certain types of medicines in the future.
The sources explained that the Ministry’s procedures aim to present tenders, practices and contracting before the control authorities through the electronic system instead of the paper one, to eliminate red tape and the length of the documentary cycle, noting that this electronic system will include a statement of requests and price offers submitted by companies and local authorities, and the approvals issued to them or not.
It is likely that the implementation of this system will take approximately 6 to 9 months, and that it will contribute to strengthening the strategic drug stock through the rapid arrival of medicines and supplies, compared to previous years, and thus eliminate the negative aspects related to the pharmaceutical sector, pointing to the Ministry’s interest in implementing it within a short period, given its importance. In ending quite a few of the negatives related to the long period of requests and the necessary approvals for them by some government agencies.
