PHL drug firms urged to follow int’l code of business ethics

Philippine-based pharmaceutical companies have been urged by a coalition of health professionals and health advocates to follow a voluntary international code of business ethics in the biopharmaceutical industry seeking to ensure the best interest of patients.

 

The Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) Philippines, a multi-stakeholder coalition composed of agencies and organizations in the government, private sector, civil society, academe, and health professional associations, together with its international development partners, said drug companies in the Philippines must adhere to “The Mexico City Principles for Voluntary Code of Business Ethics in the Biopharmaceutical Sector.”

 

The said document spells out standards for the ethical promotion of medicines aiming to ensure that medical decisions are made in the “best interest” of patients.

 

The Mexico City Principles document had been endorsed by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders during their November 2011 summit in Hawaii.

Roberto M. Pagdanganan, chairman of MeTA Philippines, said “ethical conduct by the pharmaceutical companies and their transparent and accountable actions are crucial in improving healthcare delivery to the Filipino people.”

 

In an interview on the sidelines of the recent 2014 MeTA Philippines Forum, Pagdanganan gave an example of the importance of transparency in the conduct of business by pharmaceutical companies. 

 

“If we are transparent, we can publish prices of medicines bought by the local government units for their health centers. If an LGU buys a tablet from a drug company at P20 a piece and another LGU buys the same tablet at P40 a piece from the same company, we can alert the responsible government agencies and the public at large,” he said.

 

Pagdanganan said MeTA Philippines will continue to work for reforms promoting “greater transparency” in the pharmaceuticals supply chain, pricing, government procurement process, and in the system of delivering medicines from public health facilities to patients, especially the poor.

 

“The time is now ripe to forge the inherent link with the issues of ethics, ethical conduct, and marketing ethics, and to rally support for advocacies for adherence to voluntary codes of responsible business practices, and for a stronger regulatory framework for medicines promotion that would focus on putting patients first,” Pagdanganan said.

 

Dr. Tim Reed, executive director of the Health Action International headquarters in The Netherlands, said in another interview that “transparency brings greater access to delivering medicines and health care to patients.”

 

“Ethics must not be forgotten. In government regulations, the people must not be forgotten. Their voices must be heard,” Reed said.

 

Reed cited the unique aspect of MeTA Philippines compared to its counterparts in other countries. It prominently includes the civil society in the country in its discussions and multi-stakeholder collaborations in promoting transparency and ethics in healthcare, he said.

 

Deirdre Dimancesco, who represented the Department of Essential Medicines and Health Products in the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, said “an inefficient healthcare system impacts on the lives of the people, especially the poor.”

 

Dimancesco called on MeTA Philippines to also address the issues of under-utilization of generic medicines and the proliferation of counterfeit medicines in the market. 

 

Teodoro Padilla, executive director of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), said PHAP “fully supports” MeTA Philippines’ call and campaign for ethical conduct in the pharmaceutical sector.

 

“PHAP has always believed that medical decisions must always be based on the best interests of patients. Since 1993, we have developed and strictly enforced a code of practice that governs PHAP and its member companies,” Padilla said.  

 

Adherence to the code of practice is a prerequisite to membership while enforcement rests on all the members’ employees from presidents or general managers to all their employees who have engagements with patients and the healthcare community, Padilla said.

 

Dr. Francisco P. Tranquilino, a PHAP Ethics Committee member and technical adviser on ethics matters, said the PHAP code of practice sets the standards for the ethical marketing and promotion of prescription products directed to the healthcare professions.

 

Tranquilino said it is mandatory for all PHAP members to observe the code of practice and that all their member-companies are also accountable for the actions of all their agents. —KG, GMA News