YEREVAN. – No counterfeit drugs were discovered in Armenia in 2011 and 2012, Health Minister Derenik Dumanyan stated Friday at joint session of National Assembly standing committees.

As per the Minister, all medical drugs entering the country are controlled, and domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing comprises solely 5-7 percent of the local market.  

Dumanyan said importing of drugs needs to be affordable so that too many expenses are not made. Some key drugs are not re-registered because the demand is small, and therefore large companies have no interest in spending on re-registration.      

Pursuant to Armenia’s law, drugs must be re-registered in the country once every five years. But since the demand for non-registered drugs continues, they are imported into the country by individuals. And this, in its turn, adds to the drugs’ “luggage”-method importing, which is not controlled sufficiently.