Corrupt registration of drugs under Łapiński and Nauman claims Ministry report

The main accusations in the report of the Health Ministry's internal i nvestigation, which were passed to the prosecutor, include information about several hundred drugs registered against procedures, falsified documents, charges against Ministry officials for not doing their duties and lack of following procedures among the directors of the Pharmaceuticals' Regis tration Office (URL). It is possible that the report might be included into an investigation which the prosecutor has been pursuing since May. This was the result of Rzeczpospolita revealing scandals in the Health Ministry when it was headed by Mariusz Łapiński. "Mistakes in registering drugs are especially frustrating, especially with respect to Poland's accession to the EU. The Union is paying much attention to consumer's safety," said former Health Minister Marek Balicki. However, according to the report it turns out that between October 2001 until March 2003 when the Ministry was headed by Łapiński and Aleksander Nauman was responsible for drugs' policy, the process of registering medicines was out of control. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, A3) M.M.