Supply of HIV drugs 'dwindling' in the Philippines? DOH says more stocks coming

The Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday that the current and the incoming stocks of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are enough for all patients until April 2024.

The statement came after the Network Plus Philippines (NPP), along with its 40 member organizations, called out the agency to provide concrete solutions to the “dwindling and unstable supply” of HIV antiretroviral treatment in the country. 

NPP said they have been receiving reports from the People Living with HIV (PLHIV) community that members in several regions only get “one bottle of ARV or even less” when refilling their ARV medications in HIV treatment facilities.

DOH, for its part, said the reported incidents of low ARV stocks, particularly Tenofovir-Lamivudine-Dolutegravir (TLD), could be attributed to “unprecedented increase in the use of TLD among PLHIV prior to the targeted full-scale rollout of the transition from their existing regimens.”

“In accordance with the Philippine TLD Transition Plan, treatment-naive patients as well as those who developed adverse drug reactions in their current regimens (i.e., efavirenz) were prioritized for transition to TLD in 2020 to 2022,” the Department said.

“However, as the PLHIV community became more aware of the promising superiority of TLD over other regimens through word of mouth, social media, learning sessions with support groups, and information dissemination by the treatment facilities, there was notable increase in the uptake of TLD across the facilities,” it added.

DOH said that it procured an initial tranche of 58,000 bottles which is set to arrive in the Philippines by the end of June. The second tranche of 243,000 bottles is expected by July 2023, while the third tranche of 292,000 bottles is expected by September 2023.

This supply is expected to cover “all current patients, estimated new enrollees, and estimated shiftees based on the updated TLD transition plan” until the rest of the tranches are delivered,” according to DOH.

The agency said it will also reorder 25% of the total procurement, estimated at 146,000 bottles, to ensure adequate supply of ARV drugs until next year.

There are 115,248 confirmed HIV-positive individuals reported to the HIV/AIDS and ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP) since the disease was first detected in the country in 1984.

Of this number, 6,575 have died— 101 of which reportedly died in April 2023 alone. — LA, GMA Integrated News