On August 7th, the Chamber of Deputies` Health Committee passed in general the Drugs II bill, which seeks to promote access to drugs and lower their prices. It will create a Price Observatory where laboratories will have to present information about the conformation of drugs prices marketed in the country. These will encourage their transparency. It will also encourage the use of bioequivalents to improve the interchangeability of drugs. This will allow treatments at lower prices. The committee will start processing the bill in particular next week. In this instance, legislators will begin discussing the selling of over the counter drugs. The Executive branch is confident that the committee will send the bill to the floor of the Chamber of Deputies within the next 15 days.

The bill creates a more transparent market for drugs. To this end, it is promoting the creation of a price observatory, where laboratories will be required to submit information on the production of the drugs they sell in Chile.  The bill will also promote bioequivalence between drugs, which will facilitate greater interchangeability.

The Committee should continue its article-by-article analysis of the bill in the coming weeks, with a view to pass its final text in the next fifteen days. The main debate will be on the marketing of over-the-counter drugs. The Executive argues that this will stimulate competition, resulting in lower prices. However, the opposition fears that this mechanism will stimulate the irresponsible consumption of drugs and will increase intoxication among the population.