Industry Blog

2
Jan 10

MCI norms to clip ‘tourist’ docs’ wings

The medical council of India has banned the practitioners from being at events or seminars which are financed but Pharmaceutical Companies.

 “A medical practitioner shall not accept any travel facility inside the country or outside, including rail, air, ship, cruise tickets, paid vacations etc, from any pharmaceutical or allied healthcare industry or their representatives for self and family members for vacation or for attending conferences, seminars, workshops, etc,” reads the MCI (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) (Amendment) Regulations, 2009. 

 During 2009, there were important medical events held which attracted 10,000 or more doctors, who came along with some of their family members, which ended in a big “tourist turnout”. 

Tags: , , ,
Posted in News, Pharmaceutical | No Comments »
11
Dec 09

Pharmaceutical step up on health care bill

The Senate will continue debate Monday afternoon on a popular suggestion to allow U.S. citizens to purchase cheaper drugs from distant countries, which led to a last-minute lobbying push by drug makers last week and bogged down discussions over a heath-care improvement bill.

The offer is one of numerous intense disputes that provoked a surge in lobbying by hospitals, insurers and other major industries attempting to persuade the legislation in their favor as lawmakers work through a handful of difficult issues. Medical providers, for example, are battling hard against a planned Democratic concession that would jettison a public insurance option in favor of a limited development of Medicare, while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce flew dozens of corporate executives to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers.

The fight over the imported drugs pitch poses a predominantly difficult biased challenge for President Obama, who co-sponsored a similar bill when he was in Congress and who included support for the idea in his first budget.

But the pharmaceutical industry — which has been a key follower of health-care reform after getting an agreement with the White House earlier this year — has responded with a severe lobbying campaign aimed at killing the suggestion, focusing on Democratic senators from states with large drug and investigate sectors.

 

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in News, Pharmaceutical | No Comments »
11
Sep 09

Pharmaceutical group to maintain drug rates

A MAJOR pharmaceutical group will not unilaterally raise drugs prices under the voluntary rate cut program without first obtaining the government’s approval.

In a press briefing, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) President Oscar J. Aragon yesterday assured that the prices of 38 medicines under the government mediated access (GMAP) price would be maintained.

“We have signed an undertaking with the President that we would continue to lower prices and if we have any issues we must first seek the approval of the Department of Health (DoH),” said Mr. Aragon.

Under PHAP’s commitments, companies must first seek the DoH’s approval for any rate adjustments in GMAP-covered drugs.

PHAP members have voluntarily reduced the prices of 16 of 21 medicines from an original list submitted by the DoH to the Office of the President to be covered by the maximum drug retail price (MDRP). The five other drugs were required to halve their prices.

In addition to the 16 drugs, PHAP members also voluntarily included 22 other medicines under GMAP.

The MDRP is provided for under Republic Act 9502 or the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008. Recommended by the Secretary of Health for approval by the President, the MDRP is resorted to if there is no effective competition to lower drug prices.

Executive Order 821, which imposed the MDRP and detailed the GMAP, was implemented on Aug. 15. Smaller drug retailers with manual inventory systems have until Sept. 15 to comply with the order.

Mr. Aragon said PHAP is awaiting the results of the MDRP review in November.

“We hope that the review would show that the goal of the government [for more access to medicines] has been achieved and that less intervention is needed to make more drugs accessible,” said Mr. Aragon.

He added that PHAP is hoping “more consumption of our products could balance the effect of the price reduction.”

The DoH has said that it is studying proposals from pharmaceutical companies to add more drugs under the GMAP.

 

www.bworldonline.com

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Pharmaceutical | No Comments »
Tag Cloud