Small pharmaceutical firms are calling for the full implementation of Republic Act 9502 or The Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 to enable Filipinos to avail themselves of affordable drugs.
In a forum in Manila, they cited the need for the government to strengthen the law’s implementation to allow drug outlets to carry a variety of medicine brands, including those sourced through parallel importation, and give choices to consumers. They lamented that multinational drug companies are blocking the generic law by Filing cases against them under the guise of “violating the patent protection law.” Three firms- Ferma Drug, Ellebasy Medicale Trading, and Mark Erickson Enterprises said they were recently raided by police and National Bureau of Investigation agents on a warrant and seizure order obtained by a Canada-based company from a Makati court for alleged violation of infringement on patent right and selling “illegal drugs.”
The firms denied the charges, saying that their drugs are generic and all registered with the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).
“How could the FDA issue a certification to us if the drugs we are selling are illegal? They are actually cheaper than what multinational companies sell,” Mack Macalanggan, the group spokesman, said.
The firms explained that under Section 7-M of RA 9502, “generic drugs refer to drugs that have the same active pharmaceutical ingredient as the innovator drugs and are not covered by patent protection law. These drugs are labelled by their international non-proprietary or generic name and may or may not have brand names,”
