I can understand James' main concern, to save the lives of more and more children with cancer, and it is a noble goal. I myself have two young kids, aged only 6+ and 2+ years old. If anyone of them will get sick, I immediately become troubled but I try to stay calm as their illness are often not serious -- not dengue or similar fatal diseases. So I share with his concern.
But the means that he often advocates -- using politics and more government coercion -- is something that I definitely do not share with. Just three days ago, he posted in the Advisory Council members' email loop and said,
AMING PROPOSAL--TO EXPAND THE MDRP O MRP TO INCLUDE MIRACLE DRUGS LIKE TEMODAL NA EXORBITANTLY UN ACCEPTABLE UNCONSIENCABLE PRICED SA PINAS! ( CAN PROVIDE DATA FOR OTHER DISEASES)
TO SUGGEST AN AMENDMENT SA CHEAPER MEDS LAW TO INCLUDE BRAIN CANCER! KASI ANG SURVIVAL RATE AY NASA 10%! DAHIL LANG DI MA ACCES ANG GAMOT!
Lousy argument James.
First you said "miracle drugs" meaning you recognize that no other drugs before were miraculous enough to cure patients, so they die more quickly.
Then you demonize those miracle drugs as if wishing that they were not invented, or were not brought to the Philippines in the first place.
It is possible that there are other anti-cancer drugs more "miraculous" than Temodal that are available in other countries abroad but not available here, precisely because the politics of envy is strong here, of wanting but demonizing revolutionary drugs.
Even local generic manufacturers like Unilab or Pharex who have the capacity to mass manufacture generics of off-patent medicines may shy away from doing so. At P100 per tablet of innovator drugs, the local generics can produce and sell at P50 or P55 and both camps will have their own markets and buyers. With MRP and drug price control, the local generics would find that they are now the expensive seller, so they have to push their prices further down, assuming there is enough leeway, or abandon selling such, even temporarily.
MRP and price control is killing competition. Where there is little or no competition, an economy can easily degenerate to socialism. See if healthcare is fantastic in socialist North Korea, Vietnam or China. But one problem with wishing for health socialism is that even socialist Vietnam and China now allows more players, allows more capitalism and the profit system, even at a limited scale.
Do not demonize the guys that give patients more modern treatment that improve their chances of survival. Demonize instead the taxation of medicines, demonize the absence of competition, demonize socialism.
Another member of the AC, the President of the Philippine Pharmacists Association (PPhA), Ms. Leonila "Leonie" Ocampo also replied.
Dear All,
I hope we wont be like Canada that because of Price regulation, many Anti cancer drugs are no longer available that they have to import these from the U.S. and Europe; in effect cost became higher. This is one concern being tackled in the global organization of Pharmacists (FIP) ; the Pharmacists being one key player in making the medicines available to the public.
Other means to lower cost, subsidy or whatever may that be could be the option to be used.
Again, the primary beneficiaries in the current price-regulation initiative are the people who have the money to buy, but those who do not have continue not being able to access the essential medicines they need.
Let us all be realistic. Let us also all work . . . that practices in the use of medicines will be corrected, from procurement down to patient monitoring. Optimum benefits are NOT experienced by the patients because they get not only non-quality medicines but also non-quality services. Let us work together that GAPS existing now between the potential effects(efficacy) of medicines versus the actual effects(effectiveness) experienced by the patients will be closed to allow OPTIMUM OUTCOMES to happen. Many factors are to be looked into, in this situation and I am asking your support to PPhA for its programs addressing this issue with the ultimate end in mind . . . OPTIMIZE HEALTH OUTCOMES OF PATIENTS USING MEDICINES.
We remain, not in favor with price regulation. There are many options for cost-effective medications. We only need the more relevant policies and their right enforcement.
It's good that Leonie shared her observation about the case of Canada. Goivernment price dictatorship via price control simply did not work and will not work, if their goal is to allow more poor people to have access to more life saving medicines.
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See also:
Drug Price Control 27: Letter to Sen. Pia Cayetano, May 15, 2012
Drug Price Control 28: On Cong. Biron and Sen. Villar Bills, July 14, 2012
Drug Price Control 29: MRP Attempt Over Anti-Leptospirosis Drug, August 16, 2012
Fat-Free Econ 22: Three Years of Drug Price Control Policy, August 30, 2012
Drug Price Control 30: Reversing the Policy on AC Resolution in 2009, September 14, 2012
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