AT least 120 drugs, addressing leading diseases and catastrophic conditions in the Philippines, are set to be recommended by the Department of Health (DOH) to the Office of the President (OP) as part of the agency’s efforts to lower prices of selected high cost medicines.
Health Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo said an updated list of medicines will be recommended to the OP for the imposition of maximum drug retail prices (MDRP) for drugs, pursuant to the Cheaper Medicines Act of 2008 (Republic Act 9502).
The proposed list of 120 drugs covers conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic lung diseases, neonatal diseases and major cancers. The list also covers high cost treatments for chronic renal disease, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis which were requested by several patient organizations and medical societies for inclusion in the price reduction efforts of the government.
Domingo explained that while the general trend shows the prices of generic essential medicines have gone down in recent years, the Philippines is still paying higher prices when compared internationally.
These are still sold up to four times the international reference prices whereas branded innovator products are sold up to 22 times higher, especially in private hospitals and pharmacies, he noted.
Under the maximum retail price scheme, prices of selected medicines are expected to have a mean price reduction of 56 percent from the prevailing market prices once an executive order is signed by President Duterte.
The current proposed list of drugs and medicines for price regulation was recommended by the Drug Price Advisory Council, created in August 2018, following the directive of the President to employ all possible mechanisms to make medicines affordable to Filipinos.
The advisory committee has independent technical experts from disciplines such as epidemiology, clinical medicine, economics, law, drug policy and competition policy.
Medicines were chosen on the basis of burden of disease in terms of magnitude and the severity of the conditions, high price arbitrage when compared with selected reference countries, and the presence of limited competition.
Domingo said the DOH has committed to work with all stakeholders toward a framework that will ensure improved patient access to and affordability of medicines.
Toward this end, DOH is currently exploring pooled bidding and framework contracting, central price negotiation and the creation of the outpatient drug benefit scheme under Universal Health Care, he said.
“High prices of medicines undermine the health of millions of Filipinos. Poor and middle-income families are especially vulnerable to being trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty, inequality, and debt because of the high cost of health care. We need to impose the MDRP if we want better health and societal outcomes for Filipinos,” Domingo said.
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