Solon promotes use of cheaper alternatives to branded drugs

MANILA – A lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Tuesday filed a measure seeking to educate health care providers and the public on biosimilar biological products and medical supplies to ensure access to affordable medicines.

In filing House Bill 9261, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said increased education on biosimilars, or competitors’ versions of branded drugs, would allow patients and healthcare providers to make informed choices on their healthcare preferences.

“Education will also improve price competition among pharmaceutical providers, as uncompetitive practices in the pricing of biological products come in part from the inability of patients to compare the prices of such products,” Salceda said in his explanatory note.

He said cheaper alternatives are especially vital to the poor, as he cited the Family Income and Expenditure Survey for 2015 stating that the richest half of the population account for 65 percent of all expenditures on healthcare, while those under the poverty line spend only 10 percent of health expenditures.

“The role of biosimilars in giving the poor access to cheaper medicine is not yet fully appreciated in the country’s healthcare system,” Salceda said. “They usually enter the market at a discount, which offers patients and the healthcare system the potential for savings.”

He said part of what makes the branded drugs expensive is that the consumer is paying for the brand, arguing that healthcare is a matter of life or death, not a matter of one brand being ‘better,’ especially if the chemical composition is practically the same as cheaper drugs.

“For something as simple as, say, Vitamin C supplements, you look at the generic names and they are practically made of the same chemicals, but the price range can be from 25 centavos to 10 pesos per tablet. Why pay 10 pesos when you get the same effects from the one at 25 cents? This matter is lifesaving for the poor.” Salceda said.

The bill mandates the Secretary of Health to ensure the availability of educational resources for health care providers, patients, and caregivers, regarding the meaning of the terms, and the standards for review and licensing of biological products, including biosimilar biological products and interchangeable biosimilar biological products.

The Health Secretary shall be allowed to offer such materials in a wide range of formats.

A list of biosimilar products with their prevailing prices must be maintained in a manner that will easily allow its readers to compare such prices.

The Health Secretary shall be mandated to advance education and awareness among health care providers regarding biological products.

“What this bill does is really help people find cheaper alternatives to the drugs they are prescribed without compromising the integrity of the cure. For matters of life and death, the brand is the least of our concerns,” Salceda said.