2nd Generics Summit

SPEECH OF HEALTH SECRETARY ENRIQUE T. ONA 2ND GENERICS SUMMIT

Guests, representatives from other government agencies, our partners from the healthcare community, friends from the industry and the private sector, civic and consumer organizations, all generics advocates, a pleasant day to each and everyone as we formally launch the celebration of the Generics Month 2011.

 

This year we have chosen a theme to fittingly capture the goal, the heart and the mission of the current administration to achieve Universal Health Care for all Filipinos. The DOH’s health reform agenda --- Kalusugan Pangkalahatan ---is dedicated to fulfilling the healthcare needs of Filipinos especially the poor including access to medicines as one crucial step in providing health support and in improving the wellbeing of our people.

 

First, let me give you an update on our progress, the reforms that are underway and how these can potentially transform healthcare including the competitive dynamics of the pharmaceutical sector. As of August this year, we have already enrolled the 5.2 million poorest Filipino families identified through the DSWD’s National Household Targeting System. Around 3.8 million near poor families were also enrolled in partnership with the different local government units.  In our efforts to increase Philhealth coverage in terms of benefit delivery and support value, we have now began implementing the Case Rate Schemes in our hospitals initially for a list of 23 medical and surgical conditions most commonly reimbursed by Philhealth. Under this Scheme, any indigent patient that belongs to the NHTS list and Sponsored program shall have zero co-payment or no balance-billing in all of our government hospitals.  We are also upgrading the capacity of our government health facilities by investing billions in new equipment and infrastructure from DOH medical centers down to our RHUs and barangay health stations because we are committed to deliver quality health care to our people.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, medicines are a fundamental component of Universal Health Care.  In all health systems and in all parts of the world, medicines are key to the fulfillment of the human right to health.  This is visibly articulated in our Philippine Medicines Policy 2011-2016 - a vital document that we are also unveiling during this Summit to set out the goals and directions of the health sector in ensuring timely and appropriate access to safe, efficacious and quality essential medicines for all Filipinos.  I thank everyone who has been part of the consultative process in building this Roadmap for access to medicines. It is a manifestation of our mutual cooperation and partnership as we aim for the overarching goal of universal health care knowing that medicines is everyone’s collective business and aspiration.

 

As part of Government’s commitment to reach the poor with essential medicines, I am happy to announce the launching of the DOH Complete Treatment Pack Program.  This is a free drug access program targeting the NHTS poor --- no buying, no selling but an outright subsidy to our indigents provided that they go to our health centers, get themselves checked and adhere to the treatment prescribed by the doctor.  The DOH ComPacks are already available in four pilot provinces beginning this month and will be rolled out to over 1,000 municipalities nationwide this October.

 

In line with the global agenda to highlight the burden of noncommmunicable diseases (NCDs) this September--- a rising threat in our country that has, in fact, overtaken infectious diseases in terms of health and economic impact, we will begin to make available a number of generic medications for hypertension and diabetes through the DOH ComPack program. In addition, currently in the pipeline are improved out-patient benefit packages and we are certainly studying how to sustainably finance medications for these conditions and other NCDs through Philhealth.  Providing affordable generic drugs to our patients early in their course can yield the largest health benefits by averting deaths and preventing productivity loss and the worsening of outcomes.  As a clinician, I understand and has seen the poverty impacts of non-communicable diseases and how treatment costs are simply unaffordable and unbearable to many of our patients.

 

Universal Health Care gives us both challenges and opportunities.   In a country with a population approaching 100 million, where we only have at most 30-40% of the population who can truly afford medicines while the country already faces the onslaught of lifestyle diseases, the challenge of financing and delivering medicines and health care is obviously significant.  The opportunity lies in how best we can effectively and efficiently respond and how the industry can propel the goal of UHC forward by helping Government provide affordable and quality treatments to our citizens.

 

The pharmaceutical sector is one of the key sectors of our nation when we talk about how investments in medicines are not only made out of public responsibility and moral duty.  Medicines are an investment for our health and our strength and vitality as an emerging economy.  Medicines are an investment for our future.  Government fulfilling the health needs of Filipinos under UHC means that we have to focus on assuring the availability of essential medicines favoring the use of more affordable generic drugs to reach and cure more of our people.  In more mature markets, the boom in generics are already reaping billions of dollars worth in savings with the United States for example, saving more than $730 billion from 1999 to 2008 from the use of generic drugs (The Economist, 2010).

In our country, we see the potential of generics to advance the goal of Universal Health Care.  Also, the opportunities for the future growth of the generics industry in the context of UHC are significant.  Indeed, the generics movement is already coming full circle after more than 20 years of the advocacy with the generics market steadily growing despite the recent challenges of drug price reductions.  I am happy to learn that generics already account for about 40% of the domestic market in value terms and 60% in volume.  I am also happy to see many new players in the market and the faith in generics continually rise as more of our citizens get convinced that generic products work and that they are actually getting the best value for their money by using generics.    Recently, the Generics Pharmacy has opened its 1,208th outlet with some of its branches established in rural and outlying areas such as Tawi-tawi where no player has gone before.  This only proves how generics has successfully thrived in recent years effectively bringing in true competition, driving down prices and encouraging other investors from subsidiaries of big companies to other local chain generic drugstores to venture into the production and sales of generics. Kudos to all of these brave investors!

 

As the Philippines pursue UHC in the coming years and aspire to be competitive both in the ASEAN region and the world, the next big step is to push our local companies to achieve Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standards within two years guaranteeing that all drugs produced in the country are manufactured with the highest international standards.  There is an urgent need to upgrade and reach the standards of our local companies in parallel with the FDA efforts to comply with the ASEAN and PIC/S standards (Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention and Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation scheme) to better protect our consumers and to position the country as a generics hub and a quality provider of medicines within our borders and beyond.  Again, this presents both a challenge and opportunity for our industry but it is something that we cannot push back or escape.  As harmonization and integration within the ASEAN take effect in the next few years, more players and products will come in and it is imperative to position the local industry as strong and globally competitive.

 

With these in mind, let me end with a positive and hopeful message for everyone that Universal Health Care is within reach and that we must all work together in the spirit of cooperation, solidarity and good governance.  Let us continue to champion and advocate for generics to achieve the vision of a better and healthier Philippines. Let us shout it out: Generics para sa kalusugan, Gamot Pangkalahatan!