The prison service will save thousands of taxpayers’ dollars by using generic drugs imported from India, Israel and Brazil, according to Health Minister Zane DeSilva.Drugs currently in Bermuda cost five times more than if the equivalent was imported from India, according to figures provided to Mr DeSilva by Russ Ford, a senior nursing officer at the Department of Corrections.The Bermuda price per vial for one inmate’s intravenous medication is $726.15, whereas the Indian price per vial is $125, said Mr Ford.He added that the therapeutic dose, which uses four vials at a time, costs $2,814 in Bermuda compared to $500 in India.Mr Ford said in an e-mail to Mr DeSilva, forwarded to The Royal Gazette: “As a 30-year registered nurse and as the senior nursing officer for the Department of Corrections I am in great support of generic meds especially in this current economic climate.”Noting the extra cost is being paid by taxpayers, Mr Ford continued: “One of my nurses who is Indian investigated this medication when she was in India in January this year.“She went to a reputable hospital in India, Kerala Institute of Medical Science Hospital. This is a teaching hospital with very high standards.“For the past six years the DOC has been bringing in generic medication from Canada, England, US and Mexico via a reputable local pharmacy.”Mr DeSilva has said he will allow drugs from any country to be imported as long as they are eligible for sale in the US, Canada and the UK.Pharmacists have expressed concern that they were not consulted over the move, with critics warning it could lead to an influx of counterfeit drugs into Bermuda. Mr DeSilva has argued local wholesalers and retailers will be careful to ensure they purchase from reputable suppliers.Yesterday Mr DeSilva said the support from Mr Ford is further evidence the public will benefit.“What he’s saying is that the availability of generic drugs will mean huge savings for our people,” the Minister told The Royal Gazette.“What I’m trying to get across is that the savings are going to be substantial. This is not only going to help Mr and Mrs Bermuda who will have to pay less for their own medication, but it will also mean the prisons, and maybe folks at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute as well, will make savings.“Those savings will all be substantial, and that’s why I’ve been pushing this from day one.”Some have said the move will benefit former Premier Ewart Brown, who is opening Bermuda Healthcare Agency with his former political ally Rolfe Commissiong and Indian consultant Ven Subramanian.Mr DeSilva said the first he knew of that new company was when he saw it named in a Bermuda Sun legal notice last week.He said he then contacted Dr Brown, who told him his existing firm, Bermuda Healthcare Services, is his importing company of record, not Bermuda Healthcare Agency.Mr DeSilva said yesterday: “It’s no secret Ewart Brown is a friend of mine; so is Rolfe Commissiong. Of course they are.“But what they do in their private lives is their business. I have no idea what the new company is going to do. I could put my hand on my daughter’s head and say I don’t know what Ewart Brown plans in his private life. He could sell bananas if he wants.”