Socialized Healthcare 13: On Inequality and Inclusive Business in HC

Two weeks ago, I attended this forum at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati, sponsored by the AIM-Zuellig Center for Asian Business Transformation, ACCESS Health, ASSIST and Globe Telecom.  Perhaps a coincidence, another forum that same day, same time, was held in Discovery Suites in Ortigas, about "inclusive democracy" starrring the UN and other groups. And this forum is about "inclusive business" starring the ADB and other groups.

Dr. Moser showed several slides how inequitable the Philippines' healthcare system is.  The Under 5 years old mortality rate (U5MR) is high in the lowest quintile of the population, and skilled birth attendance is highest in Metro Manila and other Luzon regions and provinces, and lowest in Mindanao regions. For the total healthcare expenditure (THE), more than half came from out of pocket or personal and household spending.

Health sector spending here refers to DOH budget only.

Financial protection by income. The two poorest quintiles are protected by the government, national and local, while the middle class and richer groups have private health insurance, on top of their PhilHealth membership contribution as this is mandatory especially for those in the formal sector. Ms. Moser's next slide is interesting. Many if not all ASEAN countries have strong private sector presence in healthcare even though their governments' health spending is substantial. Any discrepancy between actual spending and actual delivery can be attributed to bad governance and/or corruption.

IPR and Medicines 25: Patents, Diagnostics and Technology Transfer

We need patents and other intellectual property rights (IPR) to encourage innovation in medicines and  diagnostics. We need to link academic research with industry players and manufacturers to share the risks and rewards of innovation, to transfer technology from the academe to the consumers and patients. We need government political will to succeed in strengthening academic and industry research and development.

These are among the key messages shared by Dr. Reynaldo Garcia in his talk at the 9th Science, Technology, Innovation, Knowledge and Entrepreneurship (STIKE) Kapihan Series on the subject, Technology Transfer and Healthcare last September 27, 2012, at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). The event was organized by the Dr. Stephen Zuellig Center for Asian Business Transformation. There were many participants who came, mostly from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), DOH and AIM faculty members.

Dr, Garcia, above photo speaking, is a cool guy, a life scientist and a manager of technology and innovation at the same time. He is currently the Director of the Technology Transfer and Business Development Office of the University of the Philippines (UP) System and a Full Professor at the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology in UP Diliman. He got his PhD in Molecular Biology at the Australian National University (ANU) and his business degree (Master’s in Bioscience Enterprise) at Judge Business School and the Institute of Biotechnology of the University of Cambridge in England, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. Very bright guy, also very articulate and eloquent speaker.

Below are portions of his presentation that day. See the role of patents and other IPRs in protecting innovation.

From universities to markets and patients. This is a key message that Dr. Garcia said he keeps repeating even to UP natural scientists. There is a tendency among UP and other local scientists, even those who were trained abroad for their graduate and doctorate studies, to be suspicious and skeptical of the pharmaceuticals, IT and other sector (local and multinationals) players and manufacturers. So they do not share their academic research work and keep many of such to themselves and their academic departments. If ever they wish to share, they themselves want to develop and market their own invention, something that Dr. Garcia said is definitely not practical and viable. And rightly so.