The other drug problem in the Philippines
PHILIPPINE Senator Ralph Recto describes it as “a large-sca le swindle of t he cruelest k ind” — t he proliferation of counterfeit drugs in t he Philippines that has earned the countr y its latest dubious distinction – as a hot spot for k nockoff medicines in Southeast Asia.
In its study t his year on transnationa l crime in Asia, t he UN Off ice on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report found t hat t he Philippines had t he highest incidence of “fa lsif ied medicines” in Asia.
Of 460 incidents of counterfeiting and illega l distribution of pharmaceutica l products recorded in t he region from 2013 to 2017, 193 occurred in t he Philippines, 110 in Thailand, 93 in Indonesia and 49 in Vietnam.
Though most of the fake drugs were funneled from China, Pakistan and India through crime net works, t he Philippines itself turned out to be t he source in 12 incidents of eit her fa lsif ied or i l lega l ly dist ributed medicines in the US, Japan and Germany, according to the UN report.
Internationa l criminal organisations may have earned as much as $2 billion f rom t ra f f ick ing fa lsif ied medicines in t he Philippines in
2014.
The counterfeit drugs range from medicines for urinar y tract infection, erectile dysf unction, infection and the centra l ner vous system to nutrition supplements, sk in whiteners and over-t he-counter staples like paracetamol, as well as anti-TB medication and rabies vaccines.
The UN study defined “fa lsified medicines” as pharmaceutical products “marketed with the intention to deceive buyers.”
They could be misbra nded, fa lsely labeled or ex pired. Or t hey may conta in too litt le, too much or none of t heir purported act ive i ngredient.
At best, t hese products are inef fective and merely rob consumers of their hard-earned money while giving them fa lse hopes of medical recover y. At worst, t hey could be harmful or even deadly.
As the UN report warned, “the i l licit t rade in fa lsif ied medicines . . . could represent the most harmful form of transnationa l organised crime in terms of its direct impact
Workers pack medicine in a factory in Laguna, south of Manila.
on public healt h and safet y.”
The spread of counterfeit medication is enough “cause for alarm and action,” Recto said in his Senate resolution seeking an inquiry into the matter.
About half of t he tota l P372.8 billion— or P187 billion ($ 9.5 billion) —“out-of-pocket” healt h expenditures among Filipinos in 2017 went to pharmaceutical products, Recto pointed out.
In fact, a June 2018 report by t he Philippine Institute for Development Studies said t he Philippines is t he t hird largest pharmaceutical market in the Asean, worth $ 3.8 billion in 2017. The market is predicted to exceed $4 billion by 2020, as it grows at 3.5 percent a year.
Such a lucrative market has attracted hordes of charlatans and felons, as ev idenced by online sites that host sellers hawking medications a longside fashion items, as though people’s health were as disposable as last season’s foot wear.
To its credit, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently ordered e-commerce sites Lazada and Shopee to desist from selling medicines online until they secure t he proper licenses.
Who’d want to buy cheap but fake drugs if genuine and affordable meds are available?
“Buying medicines online over the internet can pose serious healt h risks,” said t he FDA. “Even if t he medicines bought online looks the same, t here is no guarantee it is genuine . . . Also, t hese medicines may not be stored correct ly in accordance wit h its appropriate storage conditions.”
Only sellers with an existing FDA-licensed pharmacy and a physical address are allowed to serve online orders of medicines, and ordering medicines online is also subject to approval.
Recto’s ca ll for a Senate probe should help uncover the magnitude of this worr y ing problem. For a start, the government should identif y t he “misbranded, spurious, fa ke and fa lsely labeled drugs” often sold cheaply in sari-sari stores, quoting t he results of t he FDA’s latest investigation.
The agency can also be more aggressive in publicising the brand names of counterfeit medication it had tested, and launch an information campaign on how consumers can differentiate real from fake drugs.
Cross-border cooperation among countries is as crucia l to plug t he lea ks in indiv idua l lega l systems t hat a llow criminal sy ndicates to exploit loopholes in exporting t heir nefarious goods.
But what should be the most effective deterrent to the runaway sales of counterfeit drugs is for the government to regulate the prices of safe and genuine medication to make them more accessible to and affordable for those who need them most.
Who’d want to buy cheap but fake drugs if genuine and affordable meds are available?