Deputy Health Minister Halyna Kalishenko has said she believes it necessary to improve the law on state procurement and called for tougher rules for the procurement of medicines.
"When it comes to the public medicine procurement system in general, I would like to note there is a need to toughen the rules for purchasing medicines. I’m convinced that we should buy medications with guaranteed quality," she said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Commenting on recent accusations by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry against the Health Ministry for violating the state procurement law during the purchase of antiretroviral drugs, she said that "the point at issue is a purely procedural issue."
According to Kalishenko, it was connected with the fact that last year local pharmaceutical producer Darnitsa for the first time joined in state auctions. Under the state procurement law, bidders have to meet qualification requirements, including document supported experience in executing similar contracts. However, Darnitsa could not provide such a document as at previous tenders it was represented by its dealers.
"Since that company set a price at Hr 9 million less than the second bid, the Health Ministry’s tender committee hired that domestic producer," she explained.
Therefore, Kalishenko noted, the Health Ministry believes it necessary to amend the state procurement law in the way that the document supported bidding experience requirement should concern a dealer, rather than a producer that has just started participating in state auctions.
As was reported, on Dec. 31, 2011, the Economic Development and Trade Ministry reported about the Health Ministry’s non-observance of the state procurement law during the purchase of antiretroviral drugs, which affect the objectivity of the selection of the winner.
