Prices of 97 meds slashed

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Prices of 97 meds slashed

By Jerry E. Esplanada
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Posted date: February 27, 2010

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Health (DOH) announced Friday a new round of price reductions for at least 97 types of drugs sold in drug stores and hospital pharmacies.

The “voluntary” price reductions, to take effect on March 31, were made by 11 local pharmaceutical companies, according to Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral.

The price cuts, according to Cabral, translate to about P2 billion worth of “consumer savings” on drugs for cancer, diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension, asthma, infectious diseases and on dialysis solutions and medical devices.

Drug companies volunteered to reduce prices to avoid government-ordered mandatory price cuts, Cabral said. She commended the companies for reducing their prices by an “average of 50 percent.”

Maximum retail price

“Actually, some drug companies reduced their prices by such as much as 70 percent,” Cabral said. She promised to continue the state policy of bringing down prices of medicines.

Cabral said she preferred that pharmaceutical firms brought down prices on their own, rather than have another directive issued by the Palace.

Last August, Malacañang, acting favorably on a recommendation of the DOH, imposed a maximum drug retail price (MDRP) equivalent to a 50-percent price reduction on five essential medicines.

Under pressure from the Palace, drug companies agreed to cut by half the prices of 16 other essential medicines.

The Cheaper Medicines Law allows the government to impose the MDRP if market competition fails to bring down the cost of medicines.

The DOH believes that trade monopoly is the main reason behind the exorbitant prices of medicines in the country.

The Health Alliance for Democracy, a nongovernment group of medical practitioners, observed that the local drug industry was “raking super profits from the pockets of the poor.”

Major players in the industry, however, said the 50-percent cut in drug prices would adversely affect their operations, which could lead to the layoff of workers.

The Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) for its part expressed concern that “the recent drug price reductions have not improved access to medicines, especially among the poor who simply do not have the money to purchase essential medicines either at regular or reduced prices.”

In a statement, PHAP urged the DOH to “review the impact of the first round of drug price reductions on whether the policy achieved its objectives of improving access to healthcare by the less privileged.”

Nothing beats competition

“While we remain fully committed to providing greater access to medicines, the industry still believes that the best way to drive down drug prices is through competition,” the group said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Robert Louie So, program manager of the National Center for Pharmaceutical Access and Management, said about 80 percent of some 40,000 drug stores and hospital pharmacies nationwide had “complied with” the provisions of the law.

An undisclosed number of erring drug stores and pharmacies nationwide had been found guilty and fined accordingly, So told reporters.

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