PBBM, pag-aaralan ang pagtatatag ng “PHARMA-ZONES” para mabawasan ang presyo ng mga medisina

INATASAN ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ang mga health officials na pag-aralang mabuti ang pagtatatag ng tinatawag na pharmaceutical economic zones o “pharma-zones” para maibaba ang presyo ng medisina at masiguro ang episyenteng proseso ng regulasyon.

Sa isinagawang sectoral meeting sa Malakanyang, araw ng Martes  ukol sa pag-streamline sa drug regulatory  processes sa bansa, sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos na ang pharma-zones ang tutugon sa development at pag-manupaktura ng common generic drugs  na magpapalakas sa local na suplay at ibaba ang presyo sa “true generic level similar to India.”

“Pharma-zones should reduce prices. For the moment, ‘yung mga critical sa atin ngayon, we are hoping to follow the one that has been introduced in India, for example, naibaba talaga nila ‘yung presyo ng kanilang drugs at saka nakapag-export pa sila,” ayon sa Pangulo sa naturang pagpupulong.

“So, we want to be in the same place so that the cost of medicines is a little too high, it’s not a little too high, it’s too high. Kailangan natin maibaba ang presyo to true generic. So, if we produce it locally, we are going to bring down, but we have to get the accreditation, we have to get the authority to be able to produce those drugs and to be able to distribute them as quickly as possible,” aniya pa rin.

At upang magawa ito, winika ng Pangulo na kailangang hikayatin ng pamahalaan ang foreign at local investors na ilagay ang kanilang pera sa Philippine pharmaceutical sector sa pamamagitan ng pagpapatayo ng pharma-zones na kahalintulad ng ecozones na mino-monitor at sinusuri ng Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) kung saan ang mga investors ay nakakukuha ng siguradong buwis at iba pang financial incentives upang sa gayon at maibaba ang halaga ng manufacturing.

“We are talking to foreign, hopefully foreign investors, but we are also talking to the locals. My theory here is that, at the very least, we provide the locals and the foreign investors with an equal playing field. We give everyone a chance to do that. To do whatever they want. But now, it’s not really regulated,” ayon sa Pangulo.

Sinasabing, pinagsama-sama ng Pharma-zones ang mga kompanya na kaugnay sa lahat ng aspeto ng drug manufacturing kabilang na ang “research and development, clinical testing at trials at maging ang regulasyon.”

Sa kabilang dako, dinaluhan naman nina Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go, Director General Samuel Zacate of the Food and Drugs Administration at Director General Ernesto Perez of the Anti-Red Tape Authority ang sectoral meeting.

Samantala, sa press briefing sa Malakanyang matapos ang sectoral meeting, binigyang-diin ni Zacate ang paglikha ng pharma-zones na makatutulong na palakasin ang local drug production sa tatlong aspeto na kinikilala ng  PEZA.

“So it will have a role, the FDA will have a role so that pagpasok po ng isang gamot, deretso testing, deretso registration para po magkaroon po ng mabilis at malaki ang lawak ng coverage especially those essential medicines, like for example the generic drugs and the antibiotics that has been approved by the stringent regulatory authority of the different countries,” ayon kay Zacate.

“Napakaganda po ng proyekto ng ating Presidente kasi kung tatlo po iyan, it will give more influx of essential and generic drug. As of now, there are three main, but iyong isa is I think the Clark, but the two has yet to be determined by the PEZA itself kasi hindi pupuwede makapag-determine iyong FDA. We just there to streamline the process,” aniya pa rin.

Samantala, inatasan ng Pangulo ang FDA na gawing “more accessible and efficient” ang drug application process sa pamamagitan ng one-stop shop scheme upang hikayatin kapuwa ang local at foreign pharmaceutical firms na maging bahagi ngi drug manufacturing para gawing mas abot-kaya ang medisina. (Daris Jose)