COLOMBIA

On October 20, he Senate Seventh Committee approved the bill for differential labeling for drugs. The senators voted on the regulation on an article-by-article basis. They adopted the reconciliation report presented by the incidental subcommittee designated to make and agree technical changes to the text. The bill will now be discussed in the Senate, probably over the next few weeks.

The Senate is also debating two other initiatives: one on palliative care and the other creating a comprehensive cancer care program. The first was ready to be debated in plenary, while the second is scheduled to be debated in committee in the short term.  

The bill on differential labeling establishes that medicine packaging, containers and labels must give their name and/or their international nonproprietary name (INN), weight and expiry date, in the alphabetic Braille system and/or any other information system designed for the visually impaired.  

Likewise, drugs marketed under their INN or brand, whose packaging is similar to another, must be differentiated in line with international standards and agreements signed and ratified by Colombia for technical trade agreements and other standards complementing or replacing it, to avoid any confusion arising. The bill covers all producing laboratories in the country, including those which produce cancer drugs.   

On October 15, the Senate Sixth Committee approved the bill to strengthen education in palliative care in the country. The text is now being sent to the Senate plenary for debate. Likewise, the Seventh Committee of the Senate included in its agenda the bill detailing the requirements to provide comprehensive care for cancer patients. This initiative seeks to set up a network of Functional Units, to avoid unnecessary patient transfers, reduce administrative procedures, and strengthen the use of information and communications technology in the area of health.