Pharmaceutical companies assured consumers of reliable supply of popular medicine brands, committing to restock drugstores and pharmacies nationwide within three days, at most a week in far-flung provinces.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said Wednesday that drug manufacturers gave assurance, in a meeting Tuesday, to expedite the delivery of in-demand medicines by deploying logistics teams immediately.
“We wanted to hasten their replenishment. They assured us of enough supply. What happened, they say, was that they were not aware of the sudden surge in demand. What was out there was the normal supply, in normal times,” he said.
Watsons, a Hong Kong-based pharmaceutical and wellness franchise brought into the Philippines by SM Prime Holdings, Inc., said they have started to restock all their branches Wednesday.
Mercury Drug will be delivering in-demand medicines starting today (Thursday) to its branches in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces instead of Saturday while United Laboratories, Inc. (Unilab) said they will rush the delivery of Biogesic and other company products within the week.
Lopez said manufacturers were against setting a purchase cap on medicines since supply is ample and deliveries are coming in.
“The drugstores would be able to put their quantity limits when they detect unnecessary bulk purchases. The surge (demand) was noticed starting January 2, 2021. Consumers were complaining they cannot purchase their drugs of choice in any of the drugstores in their areas,” he said.
The DTI advised consumers to be patient and to avoid panic buying.
“We call on consumers to purchase what they only need. Supplies are coming and there will be more than enough for anybody needing these particular drug brands,” Lopez said.
He also sought help from consumers to report stores that might be hoarding branded medicines and sell them at twice the retail price.
The DTI will be monitoring specific deliveries to make sure that the products are delivered as intended, within the specific timeframe committed by manufacturers and retailers, Lopez said.