Suspects on drug marketing given arrest warrants

Chisinau, 12 February /MOLDPRES/- The 20 people detained late last week in a case on drug marketing were arrested for different terms.

Spokeswoman of the National Anticorruption Centre Angela Starinschi said that the court ruled that eight suspects remain in the CNA isolator for different terms, and 11 would be under house arrest for 30 days. A cardiologist is hospitalized.

At the end of last week, the anticorruption officers and prosecutors raided several locations across the country in a drug marketing case. Following searches, 20 people, including 12 healthcare workers and 8 representatives of pharmaceutical companies in Chisinau were detained. Healthcare workers are suspected of passive, active corruption and abuse of office in files on implementation of corrupt scheme by which sales agents of pharmaceutical companies agreed with some physicians in the health care institutions to promote their products.

According to data by CNA, the representatives of the pharmaceutical companies identified doctors from the sanitary institutions and convinced them, for some money, to prescribe certain medicines to patients. In exchange for promotional services, medical workers were systematically paid.

The same file also included the actions of some members of the Council for subsidized medicines from compulsory health insurance funds, which would have included or maintain certain pharmaceuticals in the list of compensated medicines, this being done contrary to the law. Suspected of complicity with big pharmaceutical companies are some representatives of the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate of Medicines and Medical Devices Agency. They are suspected of being provided pharmaceutical companies with information on unannounced control due to be carried out by the agency.

If they are found guilty, the doctors risk up to 10 years in prison, and the pharmaceutical company employees – up to 6 years of detention.

(Reporter A. Zara, editor A. Răileanu)