Novartis cuts price of Clozapine by 35%

MANILA, Philippines - Novartis Healthcare Philippines has voluntarily reduced by 35 percent the current retail price of its anti-psychotic brand of Clozapine, Leponex.

The price cut will take effect starting March 31. All patients can avail themselves of the 35 percent discount on Clozapine (Leponex), even those without a Kaagapay card (the patient loyalty card of Novartis).

“We made this voluntary price reduction in response to the Department of Health’s appeal for pharmaceutical companies to work with the government in providing more Filipino patients access to affordable essential medicines,” said Eric van Oppens, president and CEO of Novartis Healthcare Philippines. 

Clozapine (Leponex) is available as a 100mg (previous retail price P119.75/tablet) and 25mg tablet (previous retail price P36.75/tablet).

The new discounted retail prices of Clozapine (Leponex) 100mg and 25mg will be P77.75 and P23.75, respectively.

“This price reduction will make Clozapine (Leponex) 100mg one of the lowest-priced Clozapine brands in the market, and help more Filipino patients gain access to this proven effective and safe antipsychotic,” said Ellen Mendoza, neuroscience and ophthalmics franchise head of Novartis Healthcare Philippines.

“Clozapine (Leponex) is indicated for patients with schizophrenia and recurrent suicidal behavior, and patients with psychotic disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease,” said Dr. Francis Domingo, chief scienti­fic officer of Novartis Healthcare Philippines.

The voluntary price reduction of Clozapine (Leponex) is in line with the Novartis commitment to promote access to essential medicine and help care for the mental health of Filipinos, according to Christine Liwanag, corporate affairs and market access director of Novartis Healthcare Philippines.

“Novartis will continue implementing long-term and meaningful access initiatives through its diversified portfolio that includes its generics arm Sandoz,” she said. 

For several years now, Novartis has been working with the DOH to increase Filipino patients’ access to medicines. To date, the Novartis Malaria Initiatives has provided over 172,260 treatments of the breakthrough malaria drug artemether/lumefantrine (Coartem) to underprivileged Filipino patients at cost.

The Glivec International Patient Assistance Program (GIPAP), which has now been broadened to the Novartis Oncology Access (NOA) Program, has helped provide the breakthrough treatment imatinib (Glivec) to over 1,400 socially disadvantaged Filipino cancer patients.

From 2006 to 2009 alone, benefits provided by the NOA Program to Filipino patients are valued at over P3 billion.

The Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) is dedicated to discovering new medicine to treat neglected infectious diseases in the developing world, particularly dengue, malaria and tuberculosis.

In developing countries such as the Philippines where these diseases are endemic, Novartis will make treatments developed by NITD readily available and without profit to patients in the lower-income segments.

The Novartis Vaccines Institute for Global Health in Siena, Italy develops effective and affordable vaccines for neglected infectious diseases in developing countries.