The Health department on Thursday welcomed the gesture of the Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association of the Philippines to voluntarily reduce the prices of select drugs and medicines through their proposed “Mas Murang Gamot Program.”
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the drug companies and manufacturers would voluntarily reduce drug prices by as much as 75 percent for 155 medicines across 36 disease categories, both for the public and private sectors.
“We appreciate the gesture [of PHAP] and we have been continuously evaluating the proposal, taking into account the intended goal of the Maximum Drug Retail Price, which is to improve access to affordable medicines for all Filipinos, he said.
But Duque said some things must be taken into consideration.
“First of all, given its voluntary nature, PHAP cannot guarantee price reduction at points of sale, such as drugstores, drug retailers and private hospitals, which comprise at least 90 percent of the total pharmaceutical market,” he said.
“We know that the drug prices in these markets are significantly higher compared with government prices.”
Of the 155 drugs promised, only 107 will have their prices cut across the pharmaceutical market.
The remaining 43 will only be offered to Health department hospitals that only cover less than 1 percent of the market. Moreover, only 63 of the 122 drugs proposed by the department for price reductions were included in the list, with no price reductions for other high-cost medicines.
Other volunteered drugs for price reduction do not necessarily address the top burden of diseases in the country, and only affect small populations of patients.
In some cases, generic equivalents already exist for the proposed medicines that are even priced lower.
The proposed Executive Order on the MDRP is being discussed and refined with the help of other government agencies such as the Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, National Economic and Development Authority and the Philippine Competition Commission. It is to ensure that the final price reduction initiative of the Duterte administration will have health and economic balance.
The Health department has also taken into consideration all other position papers and proposals of other important stakeholders, including medical associations, consumer organizations and patient groups. In total, 49 individual position papers were submitted and reviewed.
“We at the DOH consider, take note and listen to all our stakeholders, but at the end of the day our decision will ultimately be to champion the right to health of the Filipino people. We will not settle with good if we can get the best for every Juan and Juana, Duque said.
