Same Name and Packaging: Do We Recover Faster from Medicines Bought in the EU than in BiH!?

More patients from Bosnia and Herzegovina have said that they recover faster from medicines bought in some EU member state than when taking the same medicine purchased in a Bosnian and Herzegovinian pharmacy, writes the BiH news agency Patria (NAP).

Although these are medicines of the same name and from the same manufacturer, patients claim that they feel the therapeutic effect of the medicine much faster if they bought it in Slovenia, Austria, or another European country instead of in BiH.
On the other hand, experts deny such claims. Mr. ph. Bilsena Šahman, a pharmaceutical expert from Sarajevo, told the Patria agency that the composition of medicines from one manufacturer must be the same in all markets worldwide.

- Regardless of whether the medicine was produced for the EU market or the BiH market, if it is from the same manufacturer and has the same name, the active substance of that medicine must be the same – claims Šahman.

Ultimately, she says, the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH regularly controls medicines on the BiH market, which prevents any possibility of abuse.

- Perhaps for food, clothing, or other products, we have different criteria for different markets, but this should not happen with medicines. In fact, if it ever happened that medicines were specifically produced for certain markets, now the criteria are the same for all countries in the world – says Šahman.

However, patients' personal experiences suggest that something is indeed wrong with the active ingredients in medicines imported into BiH, writes NAP.

For example, a female patient from Prijedor claims to have been taking medication for thyroid disease for several years. Initially, she bought the medicines at a local pharmacy in Prijedor, but her health condition only began to improve when she started obtaining those medicines from Ljubljana through friends.

- The name and manufacturer of the medicine are the same, but I feel much better when I take medicines that I order from Slovenia – she said.

A female patient from Visoko confirmed that she has been taking medication for rheumatism for several years, but only those she receives from Germany.

- My brother lives in Germany and regularly sends me tablets and creams for rheumatism. I feel much better than when I buy the same medicines here – she said.

Šahman said that the feeling among patients that medicines from other markets are of better quality compared to those in BiH is more a result of prejudice than the actual situation, writes NAP.