	Beth Anne Gray J., LL.B. (Hons.) & Victoria Tejada LL.B. P.O. Box 832-0816 - World Trade Centre - Panama City - Republic of Panama International Legal Services

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Constitutional Right to Health - Law Suit presented against the Ministry of Health and Social Security Board

20-Dec-04:

Gray & Co. presented a lawsuit against the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Board for failure to respect human rights in public bids for medications, failing to take into account the need for bioequivalence studies in the awarding of a bid to a pharmaceutical company for hypertension drugs. The law suit was presented on behalf of the Committee for the Protection of Patients and Family Members, a Not-For-Profit Organisation here in Panama. The lawsuit is based on the Constitutional right of patients, taking into account that the law which governs public bids for medications does require that bioequivalence studies be taken into account, when the Ministry of Health and Social Security Board does not appear to have done so.

For more information regarding:

Hypertension -

	http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/highbloodpressure.html
	http://www.mco.edu/whl/
	http://www.medicinenet.com/high_blood_pressure/article.htm
	http://www.hyp.ac.uk/bhs/default.htm

Bioequivalence Studies in Medication -

	Bioequivalence studies are scientific methods designed to compare two products containing the same active constituent, based on their formulation and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics. In pharmacokinetic studies, two products are considered bioequivalent if the bioavailability of the active ingredient only differs between the two products within acceptable limits. See: http://www.apvma.gov.au/guidelines/bioequivalence.shtml
	http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec02/ch017/ch017d.html
	http://www.nihs.go.jp/drug/be-guide(e)/strength/strength.html
	http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3015266
	http://www.ualberta.ca/~csps/JPPS1(3)/G.Zhanel/warfarin.htm
	http://www.statsol.ie/equivtest/senn1.htm

The information provided herein is for informational purposes only, because we believe that the topic deserves debate and comment. This is not intended to provide a legal opinion on the matter at hand, but simply to raise public awareness on the matter.

Last modified 26-Sep-2007 17:38 -0400

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Last modified 26-Sep-2007 17:37 -0400