SENATE STARTS HEARINGS ON LOWER-PRICED MEDICINES GROWING DIABETIC POPULATION SHOWS NEED FOR AFFORDABLE DRUGS

The Senate committee on trade and commerce, together with the Senate committee on health & demography, will begin hearings Monday on measures that seek to lower prices of medicines in the country.

"We will hold weekly hearings until these measures are enacted into law," Senator Mar Roxas, chairman of the trade committee, said.

Roxas, a long-time advocate of quality, affordable medicines especially for the poor, pointed to huge discrepancies in local prices of drugs to those abroad, in particular patented drugs for chronic lifestyle diseases that affect Filipinos regardless of social status.

He cited the rising incidence worldwide of diabetes, a phenomenon that does not spare Filipinos. At present, 3 million Filipinos, or over 1 in 25, suffer from Type 2 diabetes. Aside from this, there are 8 million "pre-diabetics" with dangerously high blood-sugar levels.

He noted how a common maintenance drug for diabetes, Daonil, costs P9.86 locally for a 5-mg tablet, which is taken twice a day. The same tablet however could be bought from India for less than one peso at roughly P.80.

"Ang savings napakalaki - halos sampung piso bawat tableta, halos dalawampung piso sa isang araw. Parehong kalidad ng gamot pero mas mura sa ibang bansa -- ang laking ginhawa kung makakapag-angkat na tayo ng mga gamot na ito para mabili sa murang presyo ng mga may sakit na Pilipino," the Senator said.

Roxas, as Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) six years ago, had started an importation program for drugs such as Daonil, but the effort was hindered by lawsuits filed by multinationals.

"Hindi patas ang kasalukuyang batas kaya't kailangan natin baguhin ang Intellectual Property Code," explained Roxas.

Another diabetes treatment drug, Diamicron, costs P11 locally for a 30-mg tablet, taken twice a day. The same tablet can be bought for P5 from Pakistan and P7.57 from India, up to P12 savings in a day.

Roxas said the joint committee hearings will establish the problem of high drug prices, the roots of this problem, what the government has done to address this, and what more can be done through legislative and administrative means.

- more -

Among the resource persons and agencies invited to the hearings are the Departments of Health and Trade, generic drug group Philippine Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry, Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association of the Philippines, Pfizer, Mercury Drug, World Health Organization, Oxfam and former Cabinet members.

"I urge everyone to unite in this single cause to ease the burden of our countrymen who are in dire need of quality, affordable medicines," Roxas said.

Roxas' Senate Bill No. 101 seeks to amend the Intellectual Property Code to increase competition and bring in lower-priced medicines, strengthen the local generics industry and provide ample muscle to the government in times when public health is at stake.

The bill seeks to adopt the "international exhaustion" doctrine in order to allow the parallel importation of more affordable medicines from abroad.

It also seeks to adopt the "early working" doctrine to allow generics manufacturers to begin experimentation, production and registration of drugs prior to expiry of patents. The bill also prevents patent holders from extending their patents on frivolous grounds such as the discovery of a "new use" of the patented drug.

Lastly, the bill grants the government discretion in use of patents when public health is at stake, and provides a framework for government use and compulsory licensing, with adequate compensation to the patent holder.

The bill is virtually the same as which the President had certified as urgent, and which had been passed by the Senate, during the 13th Congress.