Small drug stores have maintained that drugs they were selling are not illegal I as claimed by multinational drug companies and that they are blocking the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 9502, or the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicine Act of 2008, by filing cases against them under the guise of “violating the patent protection law.” Three drugstores Ferma Drug, Ellebasy Medical e Trading and Mark Erickson Enterprises-denied the charges, saying that their drugs are generic and are all registered with the Food and Drug 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’s spokesman, said.
The companies complained that they were recently raided by the police and National Bureau of Investigation agents on a warrant and seizure order obtained by Canada-based company Merk & Dome from a Makati court for alleged violation of infringement on patent right and “selling illegal drugs.”
“In anewspaper report, Merck claimed that the drugs seized by authorities were worth P15 million, when these only amounted to P2 million. It is because they based the cost of the drugs on their selling prices, which are seven times higher than small drugstores,” Macalanggan said. Last year, Merck also filed an infringement on patent right case against Sahar International Trading and Suhitas Inc., for selling an anti-inflammatory drug called etoricoxib. Merck claimed that it had the patent for the drug.
In a statement, the drugstores clarified that etoricoxib is not the drug name patented by Merck because “it is markedly and substantially different from the chemical structure of the generic drug under the brand.” They said, 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.” Saharand Suhitas said, “These drugs are labelled by their international non-proprietary or generic name and may or may not have brand names.”
They added that there was no preliminary injunction or restraining order issued by any court enjoining them from marketing or distributing etoricoxib, contrary to a public notice circulated by Merck. “The power and authority to issue a preliminary injunction or restraining order resides only in the Supreme Court. We will exert all efforts to bring into light the provisions embodied in RA 9502, in support of the people’s constitutional right to avail themselves of cheaper quality medicines,” they said.
They added that under the RA 9502, or the generic law, drug outlets are allowed to carry a variety of medicine brands, including those sourced through parallel importation, to give consumers a choice. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
