project of the Philippine government
Sender: owner-e-drug@usa.healthnet.org
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E-drug: MNCs filing a case against the parallel drug importation
project of the Philippine government
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Dear colleagues:
Enclosed are 2 newspaper articles published on 23 November 2000
which cite the moves of the Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association of
the Philippines (PHAP) in filing a case against the following key
government agencies involved in the parallel importation project,
namely: Department of Health, Bureau of Food and Drugs (under DOH)
and the Phil. International Trading Corporation (a state-owned
corporation of the Department of Trade and Industry.)
For your information and perusal.
KENNETH HARTIGAN-GO, MD, MD(UK), FPCP, FPSECP
Deputy Director, Bureau of Food and Drugs
Republic of the Philippines
Department of Health
"Philippine National Drug Policy Program" <ndp@doh.gov.ph>
Drug makers go to court on imports
Malaya Thursday, November 23, 2000 - Page 6
Anticipating losses, the 84 strong Pharmaceutical Healthcare
Association of the Philippines has moved to stop the parallel drug
importation program of the health department which is intended to
bring down prices of medicines.
Health Secretary Alberto Romualdez Jr. said PHAP, which is composed
of mostly multinational drug companies, has filed a case before the
Makati regional trial court seeking to stop the implementation of the
program.
In its petition, PHAP said Department of Health Administrative Order
violates laws and regulations against counterfeit drugs.
Romualdez said AO 85 merely rescinded a provision in the Implementing
Rules and Regulations of the Counterfeit Law, specifically that part
declaring all imported medicines as counterfeit.
"We all know that imported drugs are not counterfeit or fake drugs
when they come from the same company and so we removed that part
out," Romualdez said.
The parallel importation program provides for the importation of
drugs of similar brand names with those that are manufactured locally.
These drugs are manufactured from the source of importation by the
same companies that produce the drugs here.
The difference is the price. In other countries, a particular drug
sells for only P2 a tablet. The same drug costs P10 a tablet here.
----------------------------------------------------------------Drug
Companies want DOH Medicine Import Stopped
Courier, Thursday, November 23, 2000 - Page 3
The Department of Health (DOH), the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD),
and the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) have been sued
before the Makati Regional Trial Court for allegedly importing cheap
medicines.
The Pharmaceutical Health Care Association of the Philippines (PHAP),
an organization composed of 84 members, 30 Filipino-owned
corporations and the 54 multi-national corporations went to court,
claiming it is illegal for DOH government to import unregistered drug
product.
The pharmaceutical association further claimed that importing of
branded medicines from India also violates the provisions of the
Generics Act of 1998, the special law on counterfeit drugs and the
intellectual property code.
Health Secretary Alberto Romualdez Jr., however, said that PHAP's
move to bar the DOH from its program to make available branded but
cheaper medicines in government hospitals is an indication of the
real concerns of these companies-profit rather than health.
"I cannot understand why they have to go to court to settle an issue
on prices. Prices, I think are better discussed in the market place,"
Romualdez said. "If we are able to put cheaper product in the market,
then they (PHAP) should counter by making better and cheaper products
themselves and not by suing."
Romualdez explained while Glaxo Wellcome sells Salbutamol for
P294.75, the DOH will sell the same brand for only P198.51.
"You can just imagine how an asthma victim suffers if he does not
have P294.75," he said, adding, "While Roche sells Cotrimoxazole for
P24.1 per tablet, the DOH will sell it for P4.73, which is more than
400
percent less. Bayer's Nifedipine costs P25.25 per capsule, while
government hospitals will sell this for only P4.54 or more than 458
percent savings."
Romualdez clarified that the first batch of drugs that arrived from
India are exactly the same products made by these companies, but were
bought in wholesale. The only difference could be the cheaper price
or maybe the packaging, he said.
The first hearing of the case is set on
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