Companies find it easier to register drugs abroad

In Poland we have to pay five times more. The Lithuanian registration office immediately addressed our concerns and keep us informed about the whole process," said Dariusz Grabikowski, chairman of the supervisory board of Biofaktor. Since joining the EU, producers can submit registration applications in more than one EU state. The Polish drugs authority (URPL) is currently more busy than usual, as apart from regular registration of pharmaceuticals, it has to tackle harmonization of drugs on sale at present by the end of 2008. "The time it takes to carry out procedures is equal in all countries. The problem of fees does not exist as they are lower in Poland," said Elżbieta Wojtasik, deputy president of URPL. Entrepreneurs point out that the main problem of URPL is the lack of sufficient number of specialists to effectively assess documentation. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B3) M.M.