Press Release
April 29, 2008

ROXAS ON BICAM APPROVAL OF AFFORDABLE MEDICINES BILL: "FINALLY, IT'S DONE, BUT THE WORK ISN'T OVER"

After three years since the bill was originally filed, hundreds of hours spent on committee hearings and technical working group meetings, and four months of bicameral committee discussions, Senator Mar Roxas is happy to be able to say, "At last, it's done... but the work isn't over."

Roxas, principal author of the Affordable Medicines Act and co-chair of the bicameral conference committee, thanked the members of the bicameral conference committee, led by bicameral committee co-chair, Rep. Antonio Alvarez, for signing the report. Both houses will now ratify the bicam-approved bill and officially transmit to the Office of the President for signing.

"We may have had our differences but it was all worth it because the final version of this vital health measure is really a product of vigorous debate and comprehensive study," the long-time advocate of affordable medicines said.

The former trade secretary recalled that he was sued by a major pharmaceutical company when he was at DTI for bringing in affordable medicines from abroad.

"Even then, there was a great deal of pressure for the government not to compete with these drug companies. Now that the law is passed, not just the government but even the private sector can import drugs or medicines from another country as long as they comply with the guidelines to be set by the Bureau of Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health," Roxas said.

The senator said that with the assured passage of the medicines law, its proponents must continue to work together to ensure that it is properly implemented by the Department of Health and Office of the President.

"Our next steps are to call for an Affordable Medicines Summit with all sectors represented so that a concrete implementation plan can be forged, and secondly, we need to convene and activate a congressional oversight committee to make sure that the good intentions of this new law are indeed carried out," Roxas said.

The president of the Liberal Party said that what's next on his agenda is to look into how government hospitals and provincial hospitals can import modern equipment for poor patients at less cost.

"We need to modernize our public and local hospitals and make sure that it is properly equipped to meet all kinds of medical emergencies," Roxas added.

The senator said legislation to strengthen the generics industry will also be part of his agenda. "We need to put together a long-term plan to help and support our generics industry," Roxas added.

As of last night 11 members of the House Panel signed the bicam report. Senator Pia Cayetano, chair of the Senate health committee and member of the Senate panel, signed the bicam report last night. This morning, the report was signed by Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, a member of the Senate bicameral conference committee. Senator Mar Roxas was the third and last of the Senate panel to affix his signature on the historic measure.

Among other things, the "Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008" seeks to:

  • Strengthen competition by amending the Intellectual Property Code to:

o Allow the "parallel importation" of patented medicines from other countries where these are more affordable;

o Prohibiting the grant of new patents based only on newly-discovered uses of a known drug substance;

o Allowing local generics firms to test, produce and register their generic versions of patented drugs, so these can be sold right upon patent expiry ("early working principle");

o Allow the government use of patented drugs when the public interest is at stake;

  • Give the President the power to price ceilings on various drugs, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of health. These drugs include those for chronic illnesses, for prevention of diseases, and those in the Philippine National Drug Formulary (PNDF) Essential Drug List;
  • Strengthen the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) in order for it to ensure the safety of medicines, by allowing it to retain its revenues for upgrading of its facilities, equipment and human resources; and
  • Ensure the availability of affordable medicines by requiring drug outlets to carry a variety of brands for each drug--including those sourced from "parallel importation"--to give the consumer more choices.
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