Thursday, July 05, 2007 Church supports cheaper medicine bill By Gil Alfredo B. Severino
BACOLOD Diocese Social Action Center Director Fr. Aniceto “Mao” Buenafe is strongly in favor of the ‘Cheaper Medicine Bill’ filed simultaneously by Senator Mar Roxas and Congressman Teodoro Locsin.
Buenafe said this bill will extend the benefits of the Generic Act specifically in lowering prices of medicines, to the sick and the needy.
Buenafe admitted, though, that his knowledge of the pending bill is still inadequate but is well informed that Congress “sat” on it during its third reading in the House of Congress because of powerful lobby from multinational pharmaceutical companies.
“We saw and felt the sufferings of our sick because of expensive ‘branded’ drugs. These branded drug companies could be those of people who lobbied against the passing of the bill, so unwilling to sacrifice a portion of their profit so that the poor may live,”
Buenafe stressed that, “Through our ‘Alay Kapwa Pharmacy’, the effort is to sell cheaper generic drugs through 11 ‘Botika sa Parokya’ outlets in the far flung areas of the Diocese, we saw hundreds of the sick and needy get healed.”
“This is because generics sold in our Botika are 60 to 70 percent less and that these Botika are strategically located for easy access to the poor residents of far flung barangays,” he added.
“If the Cheaper Medicine Bill is passed, then our efforts are reinforced. More and more of our sick can avail of the cheaper generic drugs whose potency equals that of the branded ones,” he said.
Meanwhile, Philippine Society of Hospital Pharmacy Negros Chapter (PSHP) president Eleanor Nicor, validated Buenafe’s statement that the potency of generic drugs, contrary to propaganda against it, are exactly the same as that of its branded counterparts.
Nicor explained that the issue surrounding the Cheaper Medicine Bill is termed “parallel importation.”
She said, “There are still patented drugs manufactured by multinational pharmaceutical companies. To be fair, these multinational companies will suffer tremendous losses if suddenly the pending bill supersedes their patent through importation.”
Nicor added that this is the reason why these multinationals companies are lobbying and saying, “Most of these companies, however, have manufactured generic counterparts.”
Nicor warned,” Whatever the results of the pending bill in the next Congress, the public must be aware against fake generic drugs. I am appealing to the Bureau of Food and Drug Administration to step up their campaign against fake drugs.”
“Whatever medicines are imported, generic or branded, I am for the Cheaper Medicine Bill but only BFAD approved medicines must be sold and that BFAD must be given certain police powers to apprehend violators,” she said.
