The Filipino interest

A few months back, this column commiserated with multinational drug giant Pfizer following its many setbacks in the local and international pharmaceutical markets. Back then, the giant was reeling under the stigma of a fatal botched drug experiment which led to the untimely resignation of its global chairman. The debacle was then taking place amid nose-diving Pfizer share prices in the major bourses and mass lay-offs in various company concerns worldwide.

In the Philippines, that sad episode in Pfizer’s presence here was highlighted by the legal actions it took against the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) following the latter’s bid to bring cheaper versions of Pfizer’s signature drugs into the country. Local Pfizer lawyers raved mad against the efforts by PITC chair Obet Pagdanganan to provide ailing Filipinos with treatments at half the cost of Pfizer drugs in the country.

Pfizer’s local woes, we pointed out, may have been capped when a leading Filipino pharmaceutical firm, United Laboratories, came out with Amvasc, a treatment for hypertension which landed in the market at more than 50 percent less than the selling price of erstwhile leading anti-hypertensive Norvasc of Pfizer.

Amvasc, our media colleagues pointed out, may have confirmed the lingering suspicion that its counterpart products may have been arbitrarily priced way above the reach of millions of poor Filipinos suffering from hypertension.

But, as our colleagues said, that episode was more than just a medicine price war. It was a proud moment during which Filipinos stood up against giant multinational interests.

It appears that episode — and the bright shining moment — is not yet over.

Filipinos are hoping that tomorrow, during the special session at the lower house, our nation just might be able to once and for all end the stranglehold by giant multinational interests on the fate of our ailing countrymen.

The hope is that Congress may finally pass House Bill 6035 which amends the Intellectual Property Code thereby making the laws on patents genuinely supportive of the needs of sick Filipinos.

If passed, the amendatory bill would allow parallel importation of cheaper patented medicines and make it difficult for multinational interests to perpetuate the patents for existing drugs. The bill also supports the early development and manufacturing of the generic versions of patented medicines.

The Senate version of that bill, fathered by Sen. Mar Roxas, had already been passed last month. What is needed now is for the lower house to pass its version, and then for both Senate and Congress to collaborate on a bicameral version that the President can sign into law.

The good news is the House version has been certified as a priority bill by the Palace and therefore stands a good chance of getting the solons’ vote during the two-day special session. Millions of Filipinos could be cheering on Tuesday. That is, if the passage of the bill is not derailed.

The reason for the fear, our coffee shop pals pointed out, is the apparent strong lobby at work in the lower house to derail the process. The work of the lobby group is evident both on the floor and in the corridors of the solons’ offices, our colleagues say.

We hope that this time our colleagues are wrong. We pray the story about the anti-House Bill 6035 is not true for the sake of many ailing Filipinos who just cannot afford the cost of medication in this country.

The natural suspects behind the lobby, of course, are multinational interests. Again, we say this is unfair to them. In particular, this could be unfair to Pfizer, whose local henchmen should go and check the loose talk.

If the widespread suspicion is that Pfizer’s hand is behind the move to torpedo the bill, Pfizer probably only has itself to blame. The tenacity with which the giant moved to prosecute the highly-respected Obet Pagdanganan for simply trying to give sick Filipinos cheaper medicine has definitely boomeranged on Pfizer. The giant should move quickly to dispel this rumor — especially if the bill fails to get a congressional nod within the next two days.

Once again, this column gives Pfizer the benefit of the doubt. We presume its local managers would not risk public ire by going against a valuable piece of legislation. But Pfizer must realize it must help stop the speculation because if the bill fails to get a nod, Filipinos just might exact revenge on their representatives in Congress for such failure.

It may be good to keep in mind that elections are just a few months away. We will definitely ask our Congressmen how they voted on this bill.

Affordable medicine is a national issue. Over and above its use as a marketing strategy, providing affordable medicine is a life saving necessity. It is the decent and humane thing to do.

Affordable medicine is an election issue. Pfizer must now act double time and doubly hard to demolish the thinking that its hand could have been behind the defeat of congressional candidates in May.

Local Pfizer executives should be able to appreciate this concern. After all, they are Filipinos, too.

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