AL Arabiya:

The file of the introduction of Iranian-made medicines into Lebanon came back to the fore again through the news that lawyers presented two days ago to the Public Prosecution of Discrimination in Beirut, after repeated attempts to bring it into Lebanon, with the facilitation of the Ministry of Health, which has become part of Hezbollah’s share from 2018 until today.

Lawyers Majd Harb, Eli Kyrillos and Amin Bashir provided news of the introduction of Iranian-made alternative medicines (Bio similar) to Lebanon, due to their violation of WHO standards and the legal and administrative procedures approved for registering medicines and pharmaceuticals in Lebanon.

Harb explained to Al-Arabiya.net that “Iranian medicines have been listed on the Ministry of Health’s page for more than a year and have been on the market. Provide information, as they have not been subjected to tests in special reference laboratories.

More than a year ago, about 13 Iranian alternative medicines (Bio similar) entered the Lebanese market, used for many diseases, including children, chronic diseases, arthritis and most types of cancer. And it is now sold naturally in Lebanon.

Since Iranian medicine entered the country, the issue began to interact with the Lebanese public opinion, fearing that it did not comply with the approved health standards.

Despite the pledge of Minister of Health Hamad Hassan to send them to European laboratories and subject them to clinical trials, to this day he has not done anything, which is what motivated these lawyers to take action, as Harb said.

However, what is surprising about the case, according to Harb, is that the cassation prosecutor preserved the notification four hours after the filing of the lawsuit, which constitutes a precedent in the history of the Lebanese Republic, at a time when he was supposed to open an investigation into the illegal entry of Iranian medicines into Lebanon and to find out their effect on patients after consulting Specialized owners, but unfortunately the prosecutor decided to reject the report (consisting of 24 pages) due to the absence of irrefutable evidence and that, as he put it, there is no offense in the case. “

The Prosecutor General of Cassation, Judge Ghassan Oweidat, said, according to the National Media Agency, that the complaint “does not contain any suspicion that any of the aforementioned persons introduced drugs of Iranian origin with the intention of bringing personal benefit, or that these drugs constitute harm to human health. “, Indicating in his decision that” the legality of the Minister of Health’s decisions to introduce drugs into Lebanon is beyond the authority of the Public Prosecution, so it was decided to file the complaint because there is no justification for taking any judicial action in it. “

Harb explained, “We based the news on the experience of Mexico and Venezuela, where these Iranian drugs (bio-similar) were used without subjecting them to the required analyzes, and it became clear after a while that a number of patients who took them died quickly, so the authorities in Mexico and Venezuela had to withdraw them. From the markets. “

He also added, “We were expecting the judiciary to open an investigation into the Iranian drug file, but we were surprised by its sealing with record speed, but nevertheless we will not stop what we do, and we will pursue the case until the end, and we may resort to a complaint later.”

It is noteworthy that these Iranian medicines entered Lebanon through Lebiran S.A.E., which did not complete its file in accordance with the rules before starting the import and sale of these medicines, as stated in the news that Al Arabiya.net reviewed, and it was not clear that any restrictions exist for these. The company is in the commercial registry.

For his part, a member of “white shirts”, Dr. Hadi Murad, who has been following the issue from the beginning, told Al-Arabiya.net that this company was registered on the basis that it was a company to import foodstuffs, but it had turned into a company to import medicines, and this is what marks An inquiry about it and the identity of its owners, especially that it is not registered in the commercial registry in Beirut and Baabda as a company for importing medicines, he said.

In addition, a health source familiar with the file indicated to Al-Arabiya.net that, when Iranian medicines arrived in Lebanon in 2018, they were not subjected to tests or approval by the technical committee in the ministry, because, according to the principles of drug registration, the request is submitted to the committee consisting of two doctors, two pharmacists and 4 Other members to give her consent after fulfilling all the conditions, including subjecting her to subsequent laboratory tests, so that the drug is approved and becomes legal.

The source also surprised, “How Iranian medicines were registered in a quick time while the registration origins go through many stages, most notably clinical trials under the supervision of internationally recognized laboratories, especially from the World Health Organization, which has not happened, and this indicates that Hezbollah is exploiting the Ministry of Health for the benefit of His own project and its relationship with Iran

He said, “The current Minister of Health, Hamad Hassan, had promised more than a year ago to send Iranian drugs (Bio similar) to laboratories in Europe for analysis and subject them to clinical trials, but he did not, so we wonder how they were quickly registered without going through these stages and contrary to the recommendations of the committee. The technical specialist in the ministry, which agreed to enter the Lebanese market, but after completing the required conditions.