Pharmaceutical group asks government: Reconsider drug price caps

MANILA, Philippines — The Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) is calling on the government to consider other approaches such as subsidies, price negotiation and pooled procurement to improve access to medicines instead of having price caps.

In a statement yesterday, the PHAP said it is requesting the government, through the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), to take a look at alternatives to price caps to make medicines more affordable.

“Through the PCC, we request the government to consider more sustainable approaches to improving access to medicines. These include increasing budget and providing subsidies for health, expanding pooled procurement, and institutionalizing price negotiation,” PHAP president Beaver Tamesis said.

PHAP executive director Teodoro Padilla said price negotiation and pooled procurement are both provided under the Universal Health Care Act to help the government evaluate the value of innovative medicine with industry cost and sustainability.

“Moreover, adopting a price negotiation scheme will bring down prices, as has been shown in other countries to which the Philippines is being compared with. These countries employ a single payer system where the government negotiates and buys on their citizens’ behalf,” he said.

Executive Order 104, which imposes a maximum retail price or maximum wholesale price for certain drugs and medicines including those for hypertension, cancer and diabetes, took effect last June 2.

During a recent webinar on the Philippine Competition Act, the PHAP and PCC vowed to work together to promote competition and innovation in the market.

PCC chairman Arsenio Balisacan said the webinar served as a platform for a dialogue with the pharmaceutical sector, to enable the firms to promote competition.

“It is only through effective communication between the private and public sectors that we can better the healthcare provision in the country,” he said.

Balisacan said the pharmaceutical industry is among the priority sectors being looked into by the antitrust body this year to help improve the competition landscape.

Tamesis said the PHAP is hopeful the PCC could help the research-based pharmaceutical industry through the creation of an environment that encourages innovation.

“This can be achieved by building capabilities for advanced science, technology, and innovation; formulating policies that enable, support and incentivize innovation; and forging public-private partnerships to ensure pharmaceutical security and improve access to medicines,” he said.

Padilla said the PHAP, for its part, is committed to help ensure fair market competition to promote the interests of consumers, businesses and the government.

PHAP is composed of local and global firms providing quality and life-saving medicines.