A Barbadian pharmaceutical industry could reduce the country’s reliance on imported medicines and create a new stream of foreign exchange, Minister of Energy, Business Development and Commerce Kerrie Symmonds told the House of Assembly during debate on new legislation.

Speaking in the House of Assembly on the Barbados Medical Products Bill, Symmonds argued that the legislation represents a major step in strengthening the island’s supply chain resilience and reducing its dependence on imported medicines and medical products.

The bill forms part of a broader strategy to transform and diversify the Barbadian economy by creating a pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, he said.