To regulate or not to regulate?
Over the last decade, the amount of regulation the industry is dealing with has been on a predictable upward trend.
By on Sep 29, 2009Over the last decade, the amount of regulation the industry is dealing with has been on a predictable upward trend.
This is adding cost to our business and making selling products increasingly difficult. Are these changes justifiable? Surely the regulators are making it more difficult for patients to get the products they need?
I am not convinced, the bottom line is that regulation is a weapon to manage lack of trust. Where trust has been eroded, regulation increases. In recent years we have taken our eyes off the ball and been caught defending the product rather than the patients. Our tough balancing act between the need for profits and the need to satisfy patient needs safely has been under strain.
Is it possible to go after profits like Coca-cola and still be a comendable pharmaceutical outfit? Perhaps but with great difficulty, as the old saying goes " the love of money is the root of all evil"! Have we gone too far or are regulators overeacting? If we think like patients for a minute, do we want regulation to reduced? Surely unless we restructure our business model these questions will persist