LOCAL PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS SEEK BIGGER MARKET SHARE

An industry group seeks to reverse the decline in the market share of locally made medicinal products as they lamented years of alleged policy bias for imports.

Higinio Porte Jr., president of Philippine Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA), said in a Makati forum last week that pharmaceutical products manufactured in the country comprised just nearly a third of local demand.

“About 32 percent of the pharmaceutical products being sold here in the Philippines are locally manufactured—only 32 percent. It is unfortunate that some 20 years ago, our share was 40 percent,” Porte said, claiming that the previous thrust of the government was to favor importation.

The official of the trade group—which is a more than 70-year-old organization with 72 regular members and 30 associate members—said that most of the available pharmaceutical products were being imported from India and China.

Porte said that they were losing in price competitiveness to producers from these two countries, whose governments extend strong support when it comes to mitigating manufacturing costs.

The PPMA official said the local sector envied the pharmaceutical firms from Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, citing that their governments favor local manufacturers when it comes to supply needs.

“Instead of getting the products from local manufacturers, they are getting it from India, from China,” Porte said, opining that the Department of Health (DOH) was more inclined to import medicines from other countries.

Production capacity

Sought for comment on whether the local pharmaceutical industry has the production capacity, the PPMA official said that some companies were capable of ramping up production.

“Our capacity utilization is 50 percent right now. We can double production without investing so much on facilities,” he said, referring to Pascual Laboratories Inc., where he works as vice president.

He added that the local industry could produce oral solid dosages (capsules, tablets and powders), oral liquid and semi-solid products (syrups, creams and ointments), eye and ear drops, as well as small and large volume injectables (excluding vaccines), among others.

Despite the unfavorable condition, the PPMA official said that the local pharmaceutical industry had done well during the pandemic, with their moving annual total (MAT) value growing by 6 to 9 percent annually during the last few years.

As of the second quarter of 2022, the industry’s MAT value, which is a measure of the industry’s sales figures, stood at P238 billion, exceeding the prepandemic record of P212 billion during the same period in 2019.

The PPMA official said they were currently working with the current administration to craft an industry road map to boost the market share of local manufacturers to 60 percent by 2030.

Porte also expressed optimism on the full implementation of the Universal Health Care program, saying that only a third of the Philippines’ 114 million population have access to the right medicine and health services.

He said this would leave ample room for the local industry and its allied sectors to substantially grow in the next several years.

About 32 percent of the pharmaceutical products being sold here in the Philippines are locally manufactured— only 32 percent

Higinio Porte Jr. PPMA president