Local pharma industry sees slower growth amid crisis

Sales growth of pharmaceutical products in the country would slow down this year due to the economic downturn and expiring patents, the local pharmaceutical industry said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) said that sales growth for this year would be between 5 percent to 6 percent from last year’s pharmaceutical sales of P116 billion. But this is slower than last year’s 10.18-percent growth, the PHAP said.

“The global economic crisis, the extensive R&D [research and development] process, and the expiring patents are some of the reasons we have this growth projection this year,” Reiner Gloor, PHAP executive director, said.

The industry group said this year’s growth would be boosted by research and development activities. Last year, the global biopharmaceutical firms have invested $65.2 billion in R&D.

“The role of R&D has become more relevant today as we brace for existing and emerging health threats in a globalized community,” Gloor said.

For instance the discovery of medication for global health threats such as the Influenza A(H1N1) is much-needed these days, the PHAP official said

In a recent meeting with President Gloria Arroyo, Gloor said the PHAP asked the government to “establish a registration system for parallel imports consistent with the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 9502, otherwise known as the Universally Accessible Quality and Cheaper Medicines Act.”

The PHAP is composed of 50 local and multinational research-based drug manufacturers and counts among its members the leading providers of patent medicines in the country. — Ben Arnold O. de Vera, Manila Times