The Pharmaceutical Division within the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU), representing owners of pharmacies in Malta and Gozo, has expressed its support for Italy’s Federfarma.

The Federfarma, the association of private independent pharmacies in the community, yesterday staged a national protest against the Decreto Bersiani, a decree formulated by Romano Prodi’s new government.

The GRTU said the Decreto Bersiani will strengthen the hand of big business organisations and will endanger independent private community pharmacies in Italy. If the decree comes into effect, it will reduce the accessibility to pharmaceuticals and large business conglomerates will concentrate the sale of many pharmaceuticals in the hands of a few large supermarket owners, GRTU said.

The GRTU said it had and would always support the cause of the pharmacist in the community. It called on all governments to resist the well-funded lobby of large business conglomerates whose sole interest was profit, rather than professional pharmacy service to patients.