Generics Drugs, Cheap Medicine laws benefits still limited

Majority of Filipinos, particularly the poor, have not fully taken advantage of the benefits of the Generics Drugs Act, 25 years after the law was enacted, and the Cheaper Medicines Act , which was passed five years ago. Separate evaluations of the Generics Act of 1988 (Republic Act 6675) and the Cheaper Medicines Act of 2008 (Republic Act 9502) by state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that low consumer awareness hampers adoption of these laws. The PIDS-DOH study titled "The Impact of the Cheaper Medicines Act on Households in Metro Manila” found there was low awareness of the law, and while many people were aware of the Generics Act, most respondents thought the Cheaper Medicines Act covered mainly generic medicines. This is compounded by the perception that generics are of poorer quality compared with branded medicines. The Cheaper Medicines Act is intended to achieve universally accessible, cheaper, and quality medicines by pursuing an effective competition policy in the pharmaceutical sector. Under the law, an executive order was issued imposing maximum retail prices on a number of drugs. The Generics Act, meanwhile, aims to promote, require, and ensure the production, adequate supply, distribution, use, and acceptance of drugs and medicines identified by their generic names. Adoracion Fausto, one of the authors, aid during a forum co-organized by PIDS and DOH last February 13, that although the increase in the number of generic drugstores and the use of celebrity endorsers like Vilma Santos and Susan Roces had helped improve the image and acceptability of generic medicines, a more integrated communication campaign by the DOH was needed to promote the benefits of the two laws. The study found that government physicians have a positive influence on the use of generics because they are required by law to write prescriptions using generic names. However, private physicians, who have an option to write in brand names in addition to generic names, seem to contribute to the generic medicines’ image of poor quality, especially among higher social classes.