ROXAS BATS FOR EFFICIENT MEDS IMPORT RULES FOR PRIVATE SECTOR MEETS WITH INDIAN CHAMBER TO DISCUSS CHEAPER MEDICINES LAW

Senator Mar Roxas has called on the government to streamline its rules and procedures on the importation of medicines, so that the private sector could come in and help bring in quality and affordable medicines.

He made this call after meeting with the Indian Chamber of Commerce this week to discuss with them how they could take advantage of the newly-passed Universally Accessible, Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act.

"From a commercial point of view, this is an exciting area that you can all explore. This is an opportunity that you can maximize, both for your benefit and for my country's benefit, so we could have more access to quality and affordable medicines," he told Indian businessmen this week.

"In India, there's a great deal of competition in your pharmaceutical market. Your chemicals manufacturing sector is strong, and there is also price regulation. We'd like to bring these in through parallel importation, to boost competition in our own pharmaceutical market," he added.

The meeting with the Indian businessmen is the latest in a series of Roxas' discussions with stakeholders and government officials for effective implementation of the law. The Senator has already met with, among others, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, the Drug Stores Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry and Health Sec. Francisco Duque.

Roxas, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce said under the new law, parallel importation by both government and the private sector is now allowed. But to maximize this tool, he said rules have to be streamlined.

He noted, for instance, that it takes the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) one and a half years to issue a Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) for a drug that is manufactured or imported by the private sector. Meanwhile, the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC)--the government's parallel importation arm--could obtain a CPR in less than two months.

"The rules that have been applied to the PITC must now be applied to the private sector," he said, adding that "This is why we allowed BFAD to retain its revenues worth P150 million yearly. They could use it to purchase equipment and hire more people, so they could perform their task of ensuring quality better and faster."

"BFAD could also have a 'green lane-red lane' system. New players could undergo strict pre-audit approval until they have established their product and reputation. After this, they can just be subject to post-audit every two years, and if they get caught introducing substandard products, they go back to the red lane," he added.

"Our interest is that the IRR doesn't contain an innocent-looking rule that's actually a barrier to the entry of competition. There are vested interests out there who want to maintain the status quo by weakening the law," he said.