ALMBiH conference held on the occasion of the 15th anniversary: Effectively, safely and of good quality-keeping pace with the health

“Effectively, safely and of good quality: keeping pace with the health” is the name of the conference of the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which took place from 16 to 18, May in Neum on the occasion of the institution’s 15th anniversary.

At the conference, which was attended by more than 300 participants, including representatives of the most important institutions in the field of health, such as representatives of the competent ministries from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska, the director of the Health Insurance Fund of the RS, Dejan Kusturić, and the director of the Institute of Health Insurance and Reinsurance of the FBiH, Vlatka Martinović and others, the importance of the existence of the Agency for one society was emphasized, especially in the context of improving the availability of good quality, safe and effective medicines and medical devices.

The importance of this event is best shown by the fact that the director of the Institute for Medicines and Medical Devices of Montenegro, Snežana Mugoša, the director of the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency of Serbia, Saša Jaćović, as well as representatives of agencies for medicines and medical devices from Croatia, attended the conference in order to improve cooperation, exchange experience and strengthen policies in the field of medicines at the regional level.

Director of the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of BiH, Nataša Grubiša, at the opening of this conference, particularly emphasized the Agency’s focus on more effective implementation of the necessary procedures with the aim of better availability of medicines and medical devices.

“The Agency is permanently committed to raising competences, developing skills and knowledge while increasing transparency and reducing administrative barriers and paperwork, persevering on the way forward, into the future.” We want to advance on the European path of adopting standards and skills for effective, safe and good quality evaluation of medicinal products and medical devices and thereby ensure better protection of public health of the population. These are the values ​​from which we do not deviate”, said Nataša Grubiša, the director of the Agency, in her welcoming speech.

During the conference, the participants had the opportunity to listen to interesting presentations related to the future of the pharmaceutical industry in the era of digital health, about international cooperation and the availability of medicines in BiH, and one of the topics was the regulation of medical devices in BiH keeping up with the new EU regulations. Since the occasion of the conference was a jubilee, i.e. marking the 15^th anniversary, at the conference special emphasis was placed on improving cooperation with other agencies in the region, i.e. how the experiences of others can be used to improve and enhance business processes in the Agency itself. A particularly interesting topic was the interchangeability of medicinal products in BiH, as well as in the surrounding countries, where representatives of the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices from Serbia and Croatia shared their experiences and what they have done in this area. The presentation on the work of the Inspectorate of the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the experiences so far as well as its challenges in the coming period, also attracted great attention.

At this conference, special attention was devoted to supporting and highlighting the importance of the existence and development of the domestic pharmaceutical industry, and a message about the necessity of support from all participants in health processes was sent to domestic manufacturers. Therefore, in the panel discussion, in addition to the view on the development of the Agency by domestic manufacturers and European institutions, there was also discussion about strengthening domestic capacities, due to the constant demand for medicines, but also due to the fact that the whole world is threatened by global shortages of medicines. The panel discussion also sent an encouraging message by domestic medicine manufacturers on monitoring the situation on the world market and that they direct all their resources towards development in order to avoid potential medicine shortages in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the panel discussion, the importance of the Agency’s work in the field of medicine quality control was highlighted, all with the aim of protecting the health of the population in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The panel participants also referred to the availability of innovative therapies, where they especially emphasized the importance of the support of the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of BiH on the way to the development and opening of the BiH market when it comes to innovative therapies.

Representatives of European institutions: the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and HealthCare, Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives of the agencies for medicines and medical devices of Serbia and Croatia, representatives of domestic medicine manufacturers as well as the Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in BiH enhanced the panel discussion with their experience and views on the Agency and its work.

From the two-day conference, a message was delivered to the professional public, but also to the wider public, that the Agency aims to improve the processes in the organization itself and to establish even better cooperation with partners in the provision of quality and safe medicinal products in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of BiH began its work on 1 May, 2009, and was established by the Medicinal Products and Medical Devices Act of BiH as an authorized body responsible for the area of medicinal products and medical devices that are manufactured and used in medicine.