Generic medicines: Sustainable way to universal healthcare

MANILA, Philippines - The use of generic medicines is one of the most sustainable ways to attain universal healthcare for all Filipinos.

This was articulated by Philippine Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry (PCPI) president Tomas Marcelo Agana III during a talk on local private sector efforts aimed at improving access to generic medicines. Agana, who is also the president of Pharex HealthCorp Inc., was one of the speakers of in the two-day 2nd Generic Medicines Summit which was attended by healthcare industry players to celebrate and discuss efforts in pursuit of universal healthcare for all Filipinos.     

Agana added that both government and private healthcare companies see the promise of generic medicines as a viable way to provide quality and affordable healthcare to Filipinos who are “becoming more aware and empowered to demand quality healthcare that they deserve.”

Because of this, there is a dynamic competition among pharmaceutical companies, resulting in better quality medicines and competitive retail prices that greatly benefit consumers. He cited the case of Pharex generic medicines which further lowered the prices of its products in the past couple of years.

“Since 2009, we’ve been making our uni-branded medicines much more modestly priced even before voluntary price cuts were made by pharmaceutical innovators in support of the previous administration’s implementation of the Maximum Drug Retail Price (MDRP)/Government-Mediated Access Price (GMA-P) program on essential medicines,” explained Agana. 

 “Pharex has been doing voluntary price cuts even for medicines not included in the MDRP/GMA-P. This goes to show how generic manufacturers continue to be staunch allies with government in pursuit of giving universal healthcare for all,” he added.

Both the MDRP and GMA-P effectively reduced their prices by up to 50 percent for essential drugs and medications that address diseases that cause morbidity and mortality such as hypertension, diabetes, common infections, among many others. As a result, Filipinos suffering from these problems have found a cheaper way to maintain their health and cure their sickness.   

Apart from lowering price points, Agana attributed the growing use of generic medicines by consumers to the aggressive marketing campaigns of pharmaceutical companies and to the upsurge in the number of generic drugstores in the country.

But despite significant gains in recent years, Agana said more efforts are needed to ensure greater public access to quality essential medicines. “We’re just penetrating a small portion of the market. As stakeholders in the healthcare industry, we need to make aggressive plans to ensure that everyone has access to quality, affordable medicines. By actively pushing for generic medicines and ensuring that these medicines are always within the reach of Filipinos, we are moving closer to attaining our goal of universal healthcare for all,” he said.