It happened, at last.

Both houses of Congress yesterday finally ratified the bill that is expected to provide the Filipino people with much-needed cheaper medicines.

It will now be transmitted to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for signing into law and will be known as the "Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008," Senator Mar Roxas told the DAILY STAR yesterday.

“We are hopeful that this will lead towards the lowering of prices of medicines. This is not the be-all and end-all towards providing the people affordable and quality medicines and healthcare, but certainly this is an important first step,” he said.

Roxas, principal author of the Senate version of the bill and co-chairman of the bicameral conference committee, said he was happy that "At last, it's done, but the work isn't over."

Work on bringing cheaper medicines to the people as soon as possible, Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra urged government yesterday.

Navarra said the prices of medicines are now prohibitive and bringing a cheaper supply to the people will be a big help, he said.

More than anything else, the primary need of the people is to stay healthy, Navarra said.

He also said he hopes that with the impending passage into law of the bill, the delivery of cheap medicines to the people will not be hampered by further politicking.

Rep. Jose Carlos Lacson (Neg. Occ., 3rd District), who also confirmed the House passage of the bill, yesterday said he hopes the price of  medicines will be cheaper with the new law.

“Its success will all depend on its implementation,” Lacson said.

The mere fact that were trying to bring down the prices of medicines with the passage of the bill is already something considering the lobby of stakeholders in the industry against such a bill, the congressman said.

Roxas said that, with the assured passage of the medicines law, its proponents must continue to work together to ensure that it is properly implemented by the Department of Health and the Office of the President.

"Our next steps are to call for an Affordable Medicines Summit with all sectors represented, so that a concrete implementation plan can be forged, and, secondly, we need to convene and activate a congressional oversight committee to make sure that the good intentions of this new law are indeed carried out," Roxas said.

Next on his agenda, Roxas said, is to find out how government hospitals and provincial hospitals can import modern equipment for poor patients to use at less cost.

"We need to modernize our public and local hospitals and make sure that they are properly equipped to meet all kinds of medical emergencies," Roxas added.

The senator said legislation to strengthen the generics industry will also be part of his agenda. "We need to put together a long-term plan to help and support our generics industry," Roxas added.

Among other things, Roxas said, the “Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008” seeks to:

*Strengthen competition by amending the Intellectual Property Code to allow the “parallel importation” of patented medicines from other countries where these are more affordable;

*Prohibit the grant of new patents based only on newly-discovered uses of a known drug substance;

*Allow local generics firms to test, produce and register their generic versions of patented drugs, so these can be sold right upon patent expiry (“early working principle”);

*Allow the government use of patented drugs when the public interest is at stake;

*Give the President the power to place price ceilings on various drugs, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of health. These drugs include those for chronic illnesses, for prevention of diseases, and those in the Philippine National Drug Formulary Essential Drug List;

*Strengthen the Bureau of Food and Drugs in order for it to ensure the safety of medicines, by allowing it to retain its revenues for upgrading of its facilities, equipment and human resources; and

*Ensure the availability of affordable medicines by requiring drug outlets to carry a variety of brands for each drug —including those sourced from “parallel importation” — to give the consumer more choices.*CPG

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