AZE.US
Cases involving fake and substandard medicines have been uncovered in Azerbaijan, including in Baku, after a series of inspections by the Analytical Expertise Center.
Khayali Aliyeva, a specialist from the center’s medical supervision department, said 29 inspections were carried out in March alone. Of those, 25 targeted private medical institutions, while four involved facilities owned by individuals.
The inspections revealed multiple violations, leading to 26 administrative protocols. Half of them were drawn up against legal entities and the other half against individuals.
According to officials, the violations included operating without a license and storing or importing medicines for sale that did not meet regulatory and technical standards. The list also included drugs of unknown origin, expired medicines and products that required state registration but had not gone through that process.
That means the issue went beyond technical paperwork and touched directly on medicine quality and patient safety.
Aliyeva said the materials collected during the inspections are first sent to the Health Ministry for further action. The ministry then ensures that the cases are forwarded to the relevant courts in line with legal procedures.
Organizations where violations were found are also formally notified and ordered to eliminate the problems. Follow-up inspections are then carried out after a set period.
If the same violations are repeated, if the order is ignored or only partly fulfilled, stricter measures can follow. In such cases, the materials may be sent to the Economy Ministry for restrictive action related to the licenses of private medical operators.
The Analytical Expertise Center also said it inspected 54 pharmacies last month, including 19 in Baku and 35 in other cities and districts across the country.
Violations were found in 12 pharmacies, and administrative protocols were drawn up in those cases as well.
The inspections suggest the problem is not limited to isolated incidents. With violations found across both medical facilities and pharmacies, concerns remain over the presence of questionable medicines on the market.