OIC-SOH SINGH-VERGEIRE LEADS LAUNCHING OF NATIONAL ROADMAP TO BOLSTER LOCAL GENERICS INDUSTRY

Press Release | September 28, 2022

The Department of Health (DOH) in celebration of Generics Awareness Month, today launched the national roadmap to strengthen the local generics industry and promote better access to medicines for Filipinos during the Philippine Generics Summit held at the Manila Hotel, Manila City with the theme “Access sa Gamot at Serbisyo, Ipaabot sa mga Pilipino.”

“Today, we announce the launching of the new Philippine Medicines Policy for 2022 – 2030, which will guide and align efforts toward sustainable access to quality and affordable essential medicines and a reduction of health out-of-pocket spending for Filipinos, which is congruent with the objectives of the Universal Health Care Law,” announced DOH Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Secretary Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire.

The Generics Summit serves as a venue to unveil the Philippine Medicines Policy 2022-2030 (PMP), which aims to provide the strategies and framework for better access to medicines. The PMP contains six (6) key pillars on ACCESS namely (1) A-ssurance of Safety, efficacy and quality, (2) C-ollaboration on availability and affordability; (3) C-ommitment to the rational use of medicines, (4) E-ffective networking, partnerships and governance; (5) S-ustainable financing for medicines and; (6) S-trengthening health systems. These pillars envision the synergistic efforts of all stakeholders working towards universal health coverage and medicines for every Juan and Juana.

In her keynote speech, OIC-Secretary Singh-Vergeire emphasized that the government has achieved several milestones in promoting more affordable generics in partnership with the private sector and health providers such as through regulating the prices of high-cost medicines, providing free medicines for the marginalized sectors, evidence-based selection of essential medicines, price transparency, and establishing flexible regulatory mechanisms for health emergencies, among others.

Colleagues from the legislative branch of government and the Health Committee Chairs of both houses of legislature, Senator Christopher Lawrence Go and Congressman Ciriaco Gato, Jr., expressed their full support for the priority programs of the administration and the Department of Health by pledging to champion priority bills in ensuring access to medical countermeasures for public health emergencies and fostering an industrial policy for medicines.

In response to the directives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to strengthen the local industry, the DOH together with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and other relevant government agencies, developed a participatory roadmap to guide the country in developing a more competitive pharmaceutical sector in the country with the aim of substantially increasing the capacity of our local manufacturers to be able to produce 60 percent of the country’s registered medicines and become major producers of essential drugs by 2030.

“There is still much to do to meet the demands of Universal Health Care and reduce out-of-pocket spending for medicines — We call on our stakeholders from all partners, our patients, and health care providers, to work with the DOH and take part in this endeavor of building a responsive, accountable, and robust health system that is capable of bringing timely and responsive delivery of affordable and quality essential medicines,” expressed DOH OIC Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire.

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