Standards Commissioner to probe PN leader after generic medicines comments

Updated 6.52pm

Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela has asked the Standards Commissioner to launch an investigation following the PN Leader's comments about generic medicines.

This came on the heels of the Labour Party's call for Alex Borg to "withdraw" his declaration arguing that it could raise "unnecessary doubts" in patients.

In his letter to the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, the health minister said Borg and his MPs were "stating very serious misinformation with the potential of far-flung and deleterious consequences to the health of patients and the public in general".

"This goes beyond ethics. Politicians should safeguard citizens against this type of disinformation and not abet it themselves," Abela said.

In a statement condemning the comments, the PL said Alex Borg’s statement, which has been disputed by the Malta Medicines Authority and the Superintendence of Public Health, “goes beyond any position taken by reputable entities”.

They warned his statements “may raise unnecessary doubts against what science advocates, to the detriment of Maltese and Gozitan patients”.

Earlier on Monday, the Malta Medicines Authority and the Superintendence of Public Health issued a joint statement defending the quality of generic medicines used in state hospitals.

The PL noted that the health authorities’ statement aligned with Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela’s declaration that generic medicines have the same substances as medicines which have already been authorised and which are manufactured according to the same quality standards as other medicines.

“Generic medicines are effective and manufactured according to established rules and protocols and are widely used in the world's largest countries, including in America, Germany and the UK,” the PL pointed out.