Pfizer again?

By Lito U. Gagni

Business Mirror – February 20, 2007

What is this we hear that there is a strong lobby that multinational giant Pfizer is mounting to a proposed affordable medicines bill that is being tackled in the special session of Congress?

The Senate version, under the guidance of Sen. Mar Roxas, has already been passed. It is now just awaiting passage in the House for it to be passed after a bicameral conference committee goes over the bill’s nitty-gritty and then it goes to Malacañang for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s awaited signature. The special session was called specifically to pass important pieces of legislation, such as the antiterror bill.

From the looks of it, though, Pfizer, according to those familiar with the goings-on in Congress, is putting up a big fight against the bill’s passage in the House. Based on the previous actions of Pfizer, especially against the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PTIC, the government agency that tried to do parallel importation of the generic drug against hypertension), the rumored lobby of Pfizer is not far-fetched. Pfizer is again trying to impose its own, even though the bill is meant to alleviate the poor’s present plight when it comes to the prohibitive costs of medicine.

Many a time, members of poor families die not because of the absence of medical attention but because the medicine is simply beyond their reach. This should not be allowed to happen.

It is simply a ludicrous situation for similar drugs peddled here to be five times to 10 times higher than in India or Pakistan. Millions of Filipinos suffering from diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases and other similar ailments are expected to benefit greatly from the passage of the bill. But there is edginess because of the much-rumored Pfizer lobby.

The reason behind the nervousness is the 50-50 chance facing House Bill 6035 that it will be passed during the two-day special session of Congress. The bill, authored by Quirino province Rep. Junie Cua and coauthored by Akbayan Party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, wants to put an end to a regime of pricey treatments for life-threatening diseases. It is an apt title for a bill as it would indeed result in a regime of affordable medicines. It would have a liberating effect on the poor.

If passed during the two-day special session, the signing into law of the affordable medicine bill caps a long struggle by ill-stricken Filipinos for access to cheaper but equally safe and effective treatments. The Cua-Hontiveros-Baraquel bill promises to do just that. The bill allows the parallel importation of cheaper patented medicines and prevents the perpetuation of patents on existing brands that normally enjoys exclusivity for only about 20 years. The bill is also a boost to cheaper generic drugs, since it allows the early development and manufacturing of generic versions of costlier branded medicines.

The passage of the Cua-Hontiveros-Baraquel bill should be a cause for celebration. Optimists say the bill stands a good chance of being passed since it is clearly propoor and should help congressmen win the approval of their constituents. This is a sound view. In fact, the bill reportedly met mere token opposition in the House deliberations. If the House moves quickly and decisively, the Senate and House versions should be moving on to the bicameral committee very soon.

But there is edginess on the bill’s passage, even though it had been certified a priority bill by President Arroyo. Perhaps this is caused by the way Pfizer brought to court PITC, a government agency, just to stop the importation of generic drugs. This is why the rumors point to another strong Pfizer lobby in the House to delay the passage of the bill.

We just hope these reports are not true. But they are admittedly difficult to discount. We clearly recall that the effort at parallel importation of cheap drugs from India was met with violent objections by multinational drug firms and ended up in suits against the government for dreaming up such a scheme.

Why is it that whenever there are issues that concern medicine lobby, the accusing finger is always pointed at multinational giant Pfizer? Pray tell it isn’t so this time for the stakes are much higher, even for the congressmen who would be perceived to be against the passage of the affordable medicines bill.

Who could argue against the interests of the poor? It simply does not wash for congressmen to defeat the bill’s passage since there is a higher interest that is waiting to be served. The time should come when it is no longer a truism that the poor will just close their eyes and leave it to their fate because they could not buy the medicine that would address their illness. This is simply sick.