Government owned corporation, Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), has recently signed an agreement with State Trading Corp. (STC) of India Ltd. for trade cooperation and drug sourcing in order to take advantage of the cheaper priced India made medicines.
STC will coordinate with Indian bulk drug manufacturers to supply Philippine drug manufacturers of generic products with active pharmaceutical ingredients. Importation of low-cost raw materials would bring down the cost of generic drugs processed in the Philippines. This will have the more far reaching and beneficial effect of cheaper medicines to the general public.
PITC is well on its way of achieving the goal that Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo set out for them, which is to reduce the price of medicine in the Philippines by half brought about by high off the shelf prices being charged by patent carrying pharmaceutical companies.
President Arroyo is actively encouraging Indian pharma firms to choose the Philippines as their main base of operations in Southeast Asia, owing to the country’s strategic location close to Northeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Another thing that could entice them is the approval in the Senate on second reading of the Quality and Affordable Medicines Act. This bill allows for parallel importation of low-priced drugs and creates a legal framework for cheaper production of drugs in the country. The President is set to sign Senate Bill 1658, more popularly known as “The Quality Affordable Medicines Act” of Sen. Mar Roxas.
In relation to this, the President’s Botika ng Bayan Project, which establishes pharmacy’s which sell cheap medicines, was recently announced to have plans to expand their outlets by an additional 50%.
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1 Global Voices Online » Philippines: Expensive Medicines // Oct 10, 2007 at 4:55 pm
[…] While Congress is mired in debates, Info Davao happily reports that the government-owned corporation, Philippine International Trading Corporation, has recently signed an agreement with State Trading Corp. of India Ltd. for trade cooperation and drug sourcing in order to take advantage of the cheaper priced India made medicines. […]
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