MANILA, Philippines--Price controls imposed on certain medicines in August last year have benefited children stricken with cancer, according to an advocacy group.
Of the 21 medicines subjected to a maximum drug retail price (MDRP), 10 were medicines for the treatment of childhood cancer, said James Auste, executive director of the Cancer Warriors Foundation.
The MDRP effectively cut the prices of the medicines by 50 percent.
Auste said the prices of the generic counterparts of these cancer medicines were also lowered.
?This enabled kids with cancer and their parents to avail themselves of the medicines on their own and it allowed foundations like us and charity agencies like the PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office) to stretch our funds and help with the (treatment) cost,? Auste said in a recent news briefing conducted by the multisectoral Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) Philippines.
Brain cancer survivor
A survivor of a rare brain cancer himself, Auste reminded health authorities of their promise to expand the MDRP coverage after three months.
Executive Order No. 821 placed five common but expensive medicines under price regulation effective Aug. 15.
These drugs include the antihypertensive drug amlodipine, the anticholesterol drug atorvastatin, the antibiotic/antibacterial drug azithromycin, and the antineoplastics/anticancer drugs cytarabine and doxorubicin.
Under pressure from Malacañang, drug companies mostly belonging to the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) voluntarily cut the prices of 16 other medicines by at least 50 percent.
These include telmisartan and irbesartan which are antihypertensive drugs; the antithrombotic drug clopidogrel; the antidiabetic drug gliclazide; the antibiotic drugs piperacillin + tazobactam, ciprofloxacin, metronidazole and co-amoxiclave; and bleomycin, carboplatin, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, etoposide, mercaptopurine, methotrexate sodium and mesna which are anticancer drugs.
Drug companies however claimed they would lose about P10 billion in annual sales because of the mandatory and voluntary price reduction.
