Another look at the cheaper medicine law

Recently, Malacanang approved Republic Act 9502, known as the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 which not more than four years ago, enabled a mandated cap on retail prices to allow lower-income family access to these life-saving medications.

After hue and cry over its provisions, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Trade Secretary Peter Favila and Presiden Gloria Macapagal Arroyo reportedly met with pharmaceutical firms on July 8 and the latter offered to voluntarily cut their prices. Sometime June this year, the Health and Trade departments submitted to President Arroyo a draft order containing a list of 21 drugs recommended for coverage by the maximum drug retail price of Executive Order 821.

EO 821 initially wanted coverage for some 21 drugs, but multinational drug firms preempted the government by agreeing to voluntarily lower the prices of 16 of the drugs by at least 50 percent. Taking effect last Aug.15, EO 821 cut prices of essential medicines; the 16 drugs list telmisartan and irbesartan, which are anti-hypertensive drugs; the anti-thrombotic drug clopidogrel; the antidiabetic drug gliclazide; and the antibiotic drugs piperacillin+tazobactam, ciprofloxacin, metronidazole and coamoxiclave. Bleomycin, carboplatin, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, etoposide, mercaptopurine, methotrexate sodium and mesna are also included, all of which are anti-cancer medication.

Other common but expensive medicines under price regulation includes anti-hypertensive drug amlopidine, the anticholesterol drug atorvastatin, the antibiotic/antibacterial drug azithromycin, and the antineoplastics/anticancer drugs cytarabine and doxurubicin. Expectedly, there are arguments for and challenging the enactment.

Chapter 3, as noted advised the constituency within 30 days after the effecting the cheaper medicines act, of a regulatory body composed of seven members: the secretary of Health as chairman; secretary of Trade and Industry as vice chairman; and the following board members: director of the Bureau of Food and Drugs; president of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.; oen faculty from the health sciences schoo; and two representatives from the consumer’s sector.

For their part, small-and-medium-size drugstores, which have not computerized their system and the pharmacies of primary and secondary hospitals were given until September 15 to implement the new prices.

On their part, the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines said that its members would “abide by the law and the guidelines set out in the executive order and that they have started working with the government for the smooth implementation of price cuts. In fact, PHAP advised there are already 20 amlopidine brands in the market whose prices are lower than the most popular brand and, while the group regrets advised price control, it still believes the same result could be achieved through a free market competition. “PHAP asserts that price control may deliver some short-term benefits but long-term negative consequences not only on the pharmaceutical industry but other industries must be considered. If price adjustments do not result in marke expansion, then affected companies will have to study options to remain viable,” PHAP added.

In August, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines reported undue impact from RA 9502 and the Maximum Retail Price. Its President Dr. Rustico Jimenez said many hospitals have already lost a lot of money and “for some of them to go bankrupt because of the medicine price cut, especially since drug companies have not given them any assurance of rebates” – is not going to be a surprise.

RA 9502 also provides the Health Department with the power to impose hefty administrative fines ranging from P50,000 to P5 million, to any person, trader, distributor, wholesaler, retailer or any other entity who violates the maximum retail price. Certainly, to hope these sanctions would hold is one thing about which consumers must remain ever vigilant. Just as lawmakers need to prove that named advocacies be based on actual backbone bracing with significant stents profesionally and judiciously set to de-clog arterial corruption. –Korinna Pia Saavedra, Manila Standard Today