ROXAS URGES DOH TO PREPARE ROADMAP FOR AFFORDABLE MEDICINES LAW

Senator Mar Roxas urged the Department of Health to prepare a roadmap for the implementation of the long-delayed and much awaited Universally Accessible, Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008.

"While we await the signing of this bill into law, nothing bars the Department of Health from preparing a roadmap for its implementation in consultation with various stakeholders," the sponsor and author of the bill said.

Roxas said the DoH could start looking into the mechanism for price regulation of certain essential drugs including maintenance medicines for diabetes and hypertension. "Plendil, a maintenance drug for hypertension that patients need to take everyday, costs almost ten times as much here than in India. Clearly, the government needs to step in to correct this social injustice," he pointed out.

Roxas also urged the Office of the President to schedule the signing of the bill into law to assure the public that the long-awaited measure will soon be implemented. He suggested that an Affordable Medicines Summit take place after its enactment to pave the way for multi-sectoral support for its implementation.

The senator noted that the said bill is now with the Office of the President after its enrollment in the House of Representatives and the Senate. "The fight isn't over, though: while we in the legislature made sure that all the tools required by the executive branch to reduce the costs of medicines are in this new law, it is now up to the administration to exercise moral courage and political will in its implementation."

Roxas reiterated his call for the signing of the bill to be followed by an Affordable Medicines Summit to discuss the necessary policy reforms and processes that would give full meaning to the law's noble intentions.

The senator anticipates a continuous lobby from vested interests groups to delay or impede the law's implementation. "Passing this bill was tough enough. I can only imagine what these lobby groups would try to do to impede the proper implementation of this law. This is why it is critically important for the executive branch to clearly and firmly demonstrate from Day 1 of the law's implementation that it has the political will to stand up against those who wish to prevent our people from gaining access to more affordable medicines," Roxas stressed.

The Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 aims to:

• Increase competition and strengthen the local generics industry through amendments to the Intellectual Property Code;
• Strengthen the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD)
• Regulate drug prices through the Office of the President upon the recommendation of the Department of Health;
• Require drug retail outlets to carry a variety of brands including those sourced from parallel importation for each generic drug.