Philippines eyes 60% production of local medicines by 2023 —DOH, DTI

The Department of Health (DOH) and other government agencies on Wednesday launched a national roadmap with a goal of increasing the capacity of local manufacturers to produce 60% of the country’s registered medicines and become major producers of essential drugs by 2030.

In celebration of Generics Awareness Month, the DOH, along with other agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), unveiled the Philippine Medicines Policy 2022-2030 (PMP) to strengthen the local generics industry and promote better access to medicines of Filipinos.

This was the DOH’s response to the call of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. during his first State of the Nation Address that the country has to have an adequate supply of medicine for the everyday needs of the Filipinos.

Marcos had said that the DTI was already coordinating with interested generic drug manufacturers to enter the country. He pointed out that if there are cheaper generic drugs on the market, their price would decrease due to competition.

In her speech during the Philippine Generics Summit, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the government, in partnership with the private sector and health providers, has been advocating for more affordable generics by regulating the prices of medicines.

This is through the provision of free medicines to the marginalized sectors, coming up with evidence-based selection of essential medicines and price transparency, and establishing flexible regulatory mechanisms for health emergencies, among others.

“There is still much to do to meet the demands of Universal Health Care and reduce out-of-pocket spending for medicines. We call on our stakeholders from all partners, our patients, and health care providers, to work with the DOH and take part in this endeavor of building a responsive, accountable, and robust health system that is capable of bringing timely and responsive delivery of affordable and quality essential medicines,” Vergeire said.

DOH said that the PMP aims to provide the strategies and framework for better access to medicines. It contains six key ACCESS pillars envisioning the collective efforts of DOH’s stakeholders working towards universal health coverage and medicines for Filipinos.

These are: Assurance of safety, efficacy and quality; Collaboration on availability and affordability; Commitment to the rational use of medicines; Effective networking, partnerships, and governance; Sustainable financing for medicines and; Strengthening health systems.

“[The PMP] will guide and align efforts toward sustainable access to quality and affordable essential medicines and a reduction of health out-of-pocket spending for Filipinos, which is congruent with the objectives of the Universal Health Care Law,” Vergeire added.—LDF, GMA News