DOH eyes 2nd batch of drugs for 50% price cut

After bringing down by half the prices of 21 essential drugs, the government is preparing a second batch of medicines that will be subject to a similar 50-percent price cut. On Wednesday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III hinted that the second list to be subjected to the maximum drug retail price policy (MDRPP) may come out after three months. “Rerepasuhin natin itong pangunahing listahan matapos ang tatlong buwan at titignan natin kung may ibang gamot na kailangan pang pabagsakin ng kalahati ang presyo (We will review the present list after three months to see if there are other medicines we need to cut prices by half)," Duque said in an interview on dwIZ radio. Duque also said the Bureau of Food and Drugs and the health and trade departments will monitor prices of the 21 medicines after the 50-percent price reduction guideline takes effect on August 15. He warned that those who would fail to comply with the policy might face heavy fines and possible loss of their licenses. On Monday, President Arroyo signed an executive order (EO) placing five essential medicines under the 50-percent price cap, after drug makers opted to voluntarily halved prices of 16 out of 21 drugs the DOH had recommended. “Sasabihin na nating ito (EO) ay marahas na paraan, pero wala tayong magawa dahil di naman boluntaryong nagbawas ng presyo hanggang 50% ang ibang mga kumpanya (Call it an iron-fisted approach but we had no choice. Other firms simply refused to bring down prices of the five essential medicines)," Duque said. But he said the government is still thankful to the pharmaceutical firms for offering to slash prices on at least 20 other medicines, by 10 to 50 percent. Duque said the health and trade departments came up with the list of medicines recommended for a 50-percent price cut based on the following criteria: * The most expensive but most essential medicines in the market; * Medicines without generic competition or counterparts; * Medicines priced four to five times as counterparts abroad; and * Medicines that address most common conditions like hypertension, diabetes, asthma, cancer, infection and high cholesterol. Meanwhile, Duque rejected suggestions for a three-month grace period for drugstores to comply with the price cap, saying government has given them only one month (until September 15) to comply. "Ang mga maliliit na butika ay bibigyan ng hanggang September 15. Naintindihan natin na... ano... ang kanilang operating system at kailangan pang iimbentaryo ang kanilang mga gamot. Kaya hanggang isang buwang palugit mula August 15 (We understand the plight of smaller drugstores because they still they need to address inventory issues. That’s why we gave them one month after August 15 to comply)," he said. On the other hand, Duque lashed out at arguments by pharmaceutical firms that the executive order will destroy free market competition. He said that in the last seven months, prices of essential medicines went down slowly at best, and even went up at worst. "Anong sinasabi nilang free market competition? Hindi epektibo ang batas dahil ang competition ay partial lang. Mabagal ang pagbagsak ng presyo at yung iba nagtaas pa. So, pwede ba yan? May batas tayo eh (What free competition are they talking about? The Cheaper Medicines Act had not been effective because competition was partial at best. Prices were so slow to drop, and in some cases the prices even went up. Will we allow that? We have a cheaper medicines law)," he said. - GMANews.TV