The government did the "next best thing" to directly procure certain pharmaceuticals, according to President of the Bahamas Pharmaceutical Association (BPA) Michelle Finlayson.

While acknowledging that going directly to manufacturers for bids for medication would have an adverse effect on the industry, Finlayson insisted that local wholesalers had a choice to bid on the tender.

The estimated 760 items that had not been bid on by local wholesalers were "critical" to addressing major health issues. "So the government did the next best thing and that was to direct procure," she said.

Some of the pharmaceuticals that were not bid on included antihypertensive drugs, antibiotics, vitamin supplements and diabetic medication.

Finlayson was referring to a letter written by an anonymous source and sent to The Guardian and other local papers titled "Bahamas pharmaceutical industry threatened".

The letter outlined the negative economic effects of direct procurement by the government and stated "If this is the future plan for procurement of all medication by government, especially with National Health Insurance (NHI) coming, this could potentially destroy the pharmaceutical industry in The Bahamas".

However, Finlayson expressed her concerns over the letter, saying that it was not entirely accurate.

"They had the opportunity to bid on all of the tender. It was given to you, you didn't want it. So, you move on to the next platform," she said.

The letter said, "The rational given at the time, was that these 760 items had not been bid for by local wholesalers on a recent tender. Sources not only insist that this was not true for all products, but that traditionally, the request for subsequent or 'supplementary' bids on any tender has always been requested through local wholesalers."

But, Finlayson pointed out there has not been a supplementary tender since 2008.

She outlined possible reasons why the local wholesalers may not have chosen to bid.

Among the reasons given was the possibility of the wholesalers' contracted manufacturers being unable to meet demand and provide the necessary pharmaceuticals.

She also said it is possible that the government's guaranteed volumes might not have seemed "attractive to the wholesalers".

Nevertheless Finlayson said, "It comes back to the choice: to bid or not to bid."

On the other hand, she argued that direct procurement would undoubtedly "shake up" the pharmaceutical industry in The Bahamas.

Finlayson said that the industry has been suffering for a while based on global market indicators and issues affecting the local Bahamian economy.

Xian Smith, Guardian Business Reporter

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