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By Sammy Martin Correspondent
MEMBERS of the Bicameral
Conference committee tackling the disagreeing provisions of the
Quality and Affordable Medicines Bill failed to arrive at a common
position on the bill’s “generics-only” provision as of late
Tuesday night.
But the committee members agreed
that it is the Department of Health (DOH) that will oversee and
control the prices of medicines sold in the country.
Sen. Mar Roxas, chairman of the
Senate panel, said they were able to finish at least 90 percent of
the bill.
“Ninety percent is already
finished, and it’s just a matter of style [in wording the
provisions],” Roxas said in Filipino.
Roxas was referring to provisions
that seek to strengthen competition in the pharmaceutical industry,
including amendments to the Intellectual Property Code to allow
parallel importation of patented drugs, strengthening the Bureau of
Food and Drugs (BFAD), and amending the Pharmacy Law, among other
provisions.
On the role of the Health
department, Roxas told reporters that the agency is competent enough
and has the necessary expertise to determine the prices drugs sold
in the country. Likewise, the BFAD, which evaluates and approves
drugs to be sold in the country, is under the Health department.
In the Senate version of the
bill, the authority to price drugs will be given to the Office of
the President, which can delegate it to Health or Trade and Industry
department.
The House version, on the other
hand, seeks to create a price-setting board.
Proposed generics-only
provision
The Senate position on the
generic provision is firm that they will allow doctors to prescribe
the branded name of a drug. However, the generic name of the
prescribed drug should also be written.
Roxas noted while the House
members wanted a “generics-only” provision that would prohibit
doctors from writing the brand names in prescriptions, Senators fear
this can result in drugstores selecting the brand for the patient.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, the author of
the Senate version, suggested in a press conference that doctors be
allowed to prescribe at least three brand names for a prescribed
drug, accompanied by its generic name.
“The idea is to allow the
patient to choose which among the three recommended brands he will
buy,” Cayetano said.
She said that the patient-doctor
relationship should be respected because the attending physician has
full knowledge as to which brand will fit his or her patient’s
needs. But having three recommended brands will allow the patient to
patronize a cheaper brand.
“They [pharmaceutical
companies] can lobby with the drugstore and dictate [to] the outlets
which will be the preferred medicine to sell,” Cayetano explained.
She said that the House panel
will agree to the position of the Senate panel but they (House
panel) want to insert a “sunrise provision” which stipulates
that after three years, only the generic name of a drug can be
prescribed by doctors.
No date yet has been set for the
reconvening of the bicameral committee meetings, but members of the
Senate and the House are optimistic that the bill will be passed
before the Holy Week or before the adjournment of the session of
Congress, which is on March 14.
The Philippine Medical
Association earlier argued that not all generic medicines are
effective, and threatened to hold a “hospital holiday” if the
generics-only provision in the bill is retained.
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