Pia: Use cheaper meds law to lower prices of childhood cancer drugs

Senator Pia S. Cayetano today said childhood cancer drugs in the country remain very expensive and inaccessible to the public especially to families of children stricken with cancer.

She also urged the Department of Health (DOH) to find ways to lower the price of childhood cancer medicines by taking advantage of the provisions of the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act (RA 9502).

Cayetano, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Social Justice and co-author of RA 9502, made the revelation to mark "Cancer in Children Awareness Month" which is observed every April.

The issue of high drug prices was brought to her attention by the Cancer Warriors Foundation (CWF), a nationwide support group for children with cancer.

"Eight cancer-stricken Filipino children die for each day that the government fails to bring down prices of childhood cancer drugs. This translates to around 2,500 deaths every year," said Cayetano, quoting from statistics of CWF.

The CWF had earlier petitioned the DOH to undertake parallel importation of childhood cancer drugs through the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) and include said medicines in its essential drugs list, which will subject these to the maximum retail price mechanism (MRPM) under RA 9052.

Using price comparison data collated by CWF, she noted how the cost of some essential childhood cancer medicines here are much more expensive, some by almost ten times (or 1,000 percent), compared to their selling prices in India:

Source: Cancer Warriors Foundation

According to CWF data, Mercaptupurine costs P40 per tablet in the Philippines, but the same medicine can be bought for only P4.22 in India. Big price disparities can also be noted in the case of Leunase (P2,500/piece locally, P1,400/piece in India); Metotrexate (P200/vial locally, P50.74/vial in India); Metorexate (P13/tablet locally, P1.52 in India); Vincristine (P450/vial locally, P95.92/vial in India); Cyclophosphamide (P275/vial locally, P61.50/vial in India); and Doxorubicin (P450'vial locally, P102.61/vial in India).

Cayetano said only two out of every ten Filipino children diagnosed with cancer survive, caused to a large extent by the prohibitive cost of medicines. In contrast, she noted that the exact opposite happens in industrialized countries like the United States, Japan and Europe, where the survival rate is much higher at eight out of ten.

CWF estimates the number of Filipino children diagnosed with cancer at around 3,500 annually. About half of these cases are leukemia, a form of cancer in which the body produces too many white blood cells.

"What has kept the government from performing its obligation under the cheaper medicines law? Clearly, its urgent intervention or continued inaction could spell the difference between life and death for this vulnerable and defenseless sector," she concluded.