The Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) said it is currently working to “secure” more supplies of medicines that are being used in treating the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“As we have done since the beginning of the pandemic, PHAP and its member companies remain committed to secure COVID-19 related medicines for the Philippines,” it said in a statement on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
PHAP said that they are also in close coordination with the national government with regards to this matter.
“We regularly coordinate with the Government regarding the status of medicine supply, and provide recommendations on approaches to make life-saving therapeutics available in the country,” it said.
PHAP said that the “unprecedented surge in global demand, driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant has led to severe challenges in the availability of COVID-19 therapies.”
“Research-based companies that have local presence are working to make the Philippines as priority country to receive supplies of these highly needed therapies,” it said.
“PHAP member companies engage in weekly planning and inventory management with regional and global counterparts to monitor supplies, and if any become available, work on immediately redirecting these to the country,” it added.
Last Aug. 31, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the DOH is currently facing challenges in sourcing anti-inflammatory drug tocilizumab which is being used in treating COVID-19 patients.
On Tuesday, Sept. 7, San Lazaro Hospital’s Adult Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Unit Head Dr. Rontgene Solante said that they are currently experiencing a supply shortage of tocilizumab.
“Ang problema namin ngayon yung tocilizumab. That’s our problem, we have no stocks of tocilizumab. I think all hospitals yun ang problema (Our problem now is tocilizumab. That’s our problem, we have no stocks of tocilizumab. I think all hospitals are experiencing the same problem),” he said.
“These are important drugs that has been proven to really decrease risk of mortality,” he added.
Solante said that some of their patients were able to buy in the so-called “black market” which is “four times the price of the original price.”
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Rolando Enrique Domingo said that tocilizumab has a “certificate of product registration” and “can be sold commercially.”
“So if there are people selling outside of licensed outlets and above the ceiling price they should report to DOH or FDA,” he said.
The suggested retail price of tocilizumab ranges from P8,000 to P25,000, depending on the amount of drug per vial, said Domingo.
Related story: DOH having ‘challenges’ in stock of tocilizumab