COSTA RICA AND GUATEMALA

On April 12, the Executive Branch of Costa Rica included in the current extraordinary sessions of the Legislative Assembly the bill to promote competition in the medicines market. The text, which regulates the concentration of the market of producers of these inputs, was subsequently withdrawn from the agenda and cannot be debated until it is reconvened. However, its inclusion demonstrates the interest of the Executive and Legislative Branches in regulating the matter. On the other hand, the Fair Price Medicines Bill was presented in Guatemala. It seeks to promote the acquisition of medicines at competitive prices, establishing maximum reference prices for their commercialization. This bill would be sent to committee to begin its debate in the short term. Both bills cover any type of medicine. 

The Costa Rican bill seeks to guarantee people’s access to these goods in the private sector, promote their supply, and strengthen consumer protection regulations. Among its provisions, the law seeks to prohibit contracts or exclusivity clauses between laboratories and drugstores, as well as any practice or mechanism tending to favor anti-competitive practices. It also proposes to regulate drug advertising and to create a basic basket to build a price index.

On the other hand, the initiative presented in Guatemala establishes that individuals or legal entities that sell medicines to the public will determine the sale price and will place it on the package or container. Said price may not be higher than the average marketing price at which they are sold in the Central American area and Panama. Likewise, for public or state purchases of medicines, the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MSPAS, in Spanish) will be in charge of ensuring that the purchase price of medicines does not exceed the International Reference Price established by the World Health Organization (WHO).