PRICES OF 22 MOST PRESCRIBED DRUGS TO BE SLASHED BY 50%
ROXAS LAUDS RELEASE OF MRP LIST; CALLS FOR MORE DROP
IN DRUG COSTS

A year after the law was enacted, the public would soon start experiencing the effects of the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines law through a 50% drop in the prices of the top 22 most prescribed drugs in the country, Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas announced today.

"Nagpapasalamat tayo at sa wakas ay tumugon na ang DOH sa probisyon ng batas at mag-I-isyu na ito ng MRP (Maximum Retail Price) sa 22 na pinakanireresetang mga gamot sa ating bansa. Napakalaking hakbang po ito," said the chairman of the Oversight Committee on Quality Affordable Medicines.

"One year matapos na maisabatas natin itong Cheaper Medicines law, sa wakas ay humakbang na din ang DOH. Simula pa lang ito. Pupukpukin natin sila nang sa gayon ay dumami pa itong 22 , itutulak pa din natin na maibaba ang presyo ng mga gamot dahil mahal pa rin ang gamot dito sa bansa natin," he added.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque had announced an initial MRP on the 22 most prescribed medicines in the country would be endorsed for President Arroyo's approval within the week. "After 6 months of implementation, the DoH and DTI have jointly studied and perused that there is limited access to some medicines that address public health concerns, thus requiring regulation of prices," Duque said during the oversight committee hearing.

Those included in the initial MRP list are anti-hypertensive, anti-thrombotic, anti-cholesterol, anti-diabetic, antibiotics/antibacterial and anti-neoplastic drugs, which would be slashed by 50% based on the price of the leading brands.

The Visayan senator said the MRP list comes at a most opportune time when the country is battling a possible outbreak of the AH1N1 virus and following complaints of senior citizens groups on their inability to buy their maintenance and prescription medicines.

He said the 50% slash on the anti-hypertensive drug Norvasc, from the present P44 .50 prevailing cost to only P22.50, would help the elderly maintain their health. Also, he said the P7.35 cost of the anti-diabetic Diamicron from the old P14.75 and the P66 price of the antibiotic Flagil from P132 would benefit thousands of senior citizens in the country.

He noted the case of 81-year old Antonia Larica and her sons, 59-yr old Pepito and 49-year-old Reynaldo, who are all afflicted with tuberculosis. Pepito is also suffering from cerebral palsy. Antonia has been suffering from TB for 10 years now. They told Roxas and Duque before the hearing that they have been unable to buy their anti-TB drugs because of the high-cost of the medicines. The Larica family, all living in one roof, only earns at most P300 a daily from selling used plastics for their food and drug requirements. On lean days, their earning is only P120.

The senator also cited the case of 54-year old Oscar Advincula, who suffered a heart attack while serving his term behind bars. Since his heart attack in 1999, Advincula said he had not been able to drink his medicines because he could not afford to buy them. His son earns only P50 a day, which is barely enough for their daily food requirements.

Roxas said that while the MRP list was a good move, he said the DOH need to do more to further bring down the prices of medicines.

He urged Duque to lobby for additional funding for the Bureau of Food and Drugs to allow it to hire additional workers to check and monitor the manufacture and sale of drugs in the country, and for the Philippine International Trading Corporation for the parallel importation of medicines.

"Walang dibidendo sa buhay ng tao. 'Yan ang punto: mayaman o mahirap, ipinanganak ka man sa mansyon o sa kubo, pantay ang halaga ng buhay ng tao. Everyone has a right to live, and it's the government's duty to not let poverty figure into the equation of who gets to live or not. That is the bottom line," he stressed.