* My column in BusinessWorld, March 31, 2020.
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This column will briefly tackle two discoveries related
to the Wuhan/China virus, a.k.a. SARS-CoV-2 which causes coronavirus disease
2019, better known as COVID-19. Take note that global deaths from regular flu,
pandemics not included, is between 300,000 to 646,000 per year.
First, excess deaths over average deaths in Europe in flu
season 2019-2020 (about 2,000+) were lower than flu season 2018-2019 (about
5,000), or flu season 2017-2018 (about 10,000) or 2016-2017 (about 12,000). It
is a surprising revelation from official European government data itself. I
learned this from a post by Dr. Roy Spencer (see Figure 1). Excess mortality by
age brackets, five charts, are found here, https://www.euromomo.eu/index.html.
Second, the level of new medicines, new vaccines and new
diagnostics to detect whether patients are genuinely infected with the virus or
not, are developing at a fast rate. As of mid-March 2020, more than 20 vaccines
and antiviral medicines are being developed against this virus, undergoing
nearly 80 clinical trials in various phases in various countries, data from the
International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (IFPMA)
(see Figure 2).
Now the same innovator companies seeking various
treatment and inhibitors to this virus are being subjected to political
harassment and confiscation of their successful, more disease-killing medicines
in the Philippines via Executive Order (EO) 104 signed by President Duterte on
Feb. 17. It aims to impose a second round of drug price controls mainly at the
maximum wholesale price (MWP), then at maximum retail price (MRP). The first
round of price controls was in July 2009, through EO 821 of the Gloria Arroyo
administration.
I attended the Department of Health (DoH) Advisory
Council meeting on March 6 at Axiaa Hotel, Quezon City, and I questioned
certain provisions of EO 104.
One, the four criteria of EO 104 where price control can
be imposed are not found in the Cheaper Medicines Act of 2008 (RA 9502) or its
Implementing rules and regulations (IRR), they have no legal basis as DoH just
invented and legislated new criteria on its own.
Two, the so-called “studies showing PH medicine prices
are much higher than Asian neighbors” say as of 2018 or 2019 are actually not
available, I searched for them many times online, and not in some DoH hard
literature.
Three, DoH’s criteria #4, if medicines are most
prescribed by physicians, then it should be price controlled. This is based on
envy, penalizing successful, more disease-killing medicines. And perhaps hoping
that the manufacturers of these medicines will pull out their products, not
selling at a loss, so that the less-prescribed medicines by some local
manufacturers will become famous?
The DoH officials in the room responded as follows:
On #1: The DoH can cover any molecules for MRP, they can
establish any criteria to have “fair” pricing.
On #2: There are several studies available.
On #3: They are not penalizing success, they just want
medicines that are priced “fairly.”
Consider a hypothetical situation where a new medicine or
vaccine has been discovered already to be effective and safe vs the China virus
and it’s high priced (high costs to develop it, etc.). Do we expect the DoH to
impose price control on it?
By the DoH insistence on “fair” pricing based on very
subjective criteria, the answer is very likely, “Yes.”
And that is a danger that Philippine patients and health
practitioners might face. Effective treatment vs the virus is available in
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, but not in the Philippines because the
government has a political harassment EO waiting for it when it lands in the
country.
The government should rethink this EO 104, pull it out
without fanfare. Encourage innovators, not scare them.
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