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By Ruben D.
Manahan IV, Reporter
The
Pharmaceutical and Health Care Association of the Philippines (PHAP)
is agreeable to a government plan to lower the prices of medicines,
as long as public safety is not compromised.
“The PHAP
insists that the cheap medicines should be of good quality, must be
effective and, most of all, safe,” PHAP spokesman Noel Laman said.
Laman said
that before everything else, the government should first strengthen
the regulatory powers of Bureau of Food and Drugs and the Bureau of
Customs.
He said the
BFAD must be stringent in registering new players in the
pharmaceutical industry who will produce low-priced medicines.
“First, they
must have the capital. Second, they must have the facilities to
store and transfer the goods and lastly, they must be able to file a
bond to answer for product liability. We want this to able to finger
point if something happens to the user of medicines,” Laman said
in a telephone interview.
He said the
Philippine International Trading Corp. is conducting parallel
importation but their requirements are more lenient.
Laman also
denied allegations the drug manufacturers are blocking the passage
of House Bill 6035, the proposed measure addressing the cost of
medicines in the country.
During the
last special session day of Congress on Tuesday, Makati Rep. Teodoro
Locsin Jr. flew into a rage after being handed a note from an
executive of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer asking him top question the
quorum during the approval of the measure on second reading.
“It is not
correct to say that the association has been blocking attempts to
the passage,” Laman said. “We were waiting for this committee
hearing to start, and how can it be? It was never convened, nor was
there deliberations taken. So in effect the major stakeholders in
the issues were never given a chance at the committee level to air
the views, to suggest the amendments.”
PHAP said it
was unfair to single out Pfizer as the one who is behind the alleged
lobbying of the bill. “PHAP is composed of many drug firms and
pharmaceutical companies; Pfizer is only one of the members of PHAP,”
Laman said.
Asked if the
association is going to challenge the legality of HB 6035, Laman
said they won’t but wanted to express their concerns.
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