South Korean health regulators’ initiative to make some OTC drugs – currently sold only in drug stores – available in supermarkets and convenience shops stalled recently in the face of bipartisan opposition from lawmakers.

In reaction to rising public demand for easier access to painkillers, cold medicines, digestive products and fever reducers, the Ministry of Health and Welfare submitted a bill to the National Assembly in September so that the products – classified as “emergency home products” – could be re-classified as products allowed to be sold in shops other than pharmacies.

The law would add a new drug category to the current categories of prescription drugs, nonprescription OTC drugs and non-drugs/quasi-drugs.

“A new law is needed for the sale of these kinds of emergency OTC drugs such as painkillers and cold medicines because they cannot be simply re-categorized as quasi-drugs because of high safety concerns,” a ministry spokesman said.

The ministry advocates establishing a legal basis for sales in supermarkets and convenience shops as soon as possible.

Recent surveys shown Koreans overwhelmingly support the new law, which will lead to wider public access to the products, particularly during off-hours.

Doctors’ associations have said the law does not pose safety concerns and requested the bill not be delayed further.

Pharmacists’ Revenge

However, ruling and opposition party lawmakers on the National Assembly’s health and welfare committee – in a rare compromise – did not consider the bill during the current parliamentary session, citing potential side effects that might arise from the sale of the products in new outlets.

Also, pharmacists’ associations – feeling threatened by the wider sales channels – have pledged to battle politicians who support the bill.

Most of the lawmakers said they agreed not to handle the bill during the current session because they believed the health ministry’s decision was made “in a hasty manner” and there should be “more research” to confirm that the products are “safe to the public” when sold in supermarkets and convenience shops.

The health ministry’s bid to pass the bill came after it re-categorized energy drinks as non-drugs/quasi-drugs so they could be sold in supermarkets and convenience shops. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak supports the proposed change Also see "Korea’s Expanded OTC Sales Challenge Firms’ Production And Distribution" - Pink Sheet, 8 August, 2011..

In what appears to be a turf war in Korea's rapidly changing health care market, doctors and pharmacists clashed this year over the health ministry’s health care and drug policies Also see "Korea's Pharmacists, Doctors Clash Over Prescription Drug Sales; Ministry Calls For Expanded Painkiller Distribution" - Scrip, 4 July, 2011..

The agreement between both parties of parliament stands in stark contrast to the clash over the ruling party’s ratification of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. At the National Assembly Nov. 22, an opposition lawmaker threw a tear gas canister in the assembly hall in an attempt to disrupt the ratification ([A#28111122008]).

[Editor's note: This article appears courtesy of PharmAsiaNews.com, Elsevier Business Intelligence's source for Asian biotech and pharmaceutical news. For a 30-day free trial, register here or call 1-800-332-2181.]

Korean Lawmakers Stall On Expanding OTC Drug Sales To Supermarkets

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