Dear Editor,
The Sunday December 11, 2016, edition of Stabroek News carried a front page story on the seizure of kidney drugs (Vintor and Wepox) banned in the US, from GPHC. To date there has been no follow up and no other daily newspaper covered the story.
There are several important questions that were not asked. Some of the unanswered questions are:
- Who were the importers of the banned drugs and what is the procurement history of these drugs by GPHC (and Government of Guyana)?
- What was the procurement process for the purchase of these drugs? Is it true that the price paid for a banned generic was twice the price of a brand name world class drug? Who approved the purchase of these drugs?
- How long were these banned drugs used, and what were the consequences?
- Could the use of the banned drugs contribute to unusually high mortality rates and/or hospitalization of kidney patients? If the answer is yes, then which dialysis providers (and therefore patients) were exposed?
I urge the government to act in the interest of our citizens. Kidney patients are suffering and dying when they can be returned to relatively productive lives while saving taxpayer dollars. This situation can be corrected immediately.
Yours faithfully,
Asafa George
