Drug firms to get in sync

Gearing up for the ASEAN Free Trade Area implementation as it pertains to pharmaceutical products in 2006, the ASEAN Pharmaceuticals Club (APC) will hold a three-day conference here with a focus on plans to coordinate the manufacturing practices in the region so there is one single standard for each country.

Each ASEAN member country now uses the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) for its own drug industry. The delegates will discuss the blueprint of the ASEAN CGMP, which is being set up by regulatory bodies from each country.

"With nearly 600 million citizens, a harmonized CGMP will hopefully boost trade among ASEAN countries because we'll have the same standards for drug production ... a large market with a promising high return of investment," APC's secretary-general Ferry Soetikno said on Tuesday.

The conference will be held from May 23 to May 25.

He explained that the ASEAN CGMP will increase the quality of drugs produced in the region, improve the health of the people living in the area and lure foreign pharmaceutical firms.

"Pharmaceutical companies, with or without an export component, will have to comply with the CGMP. If they fail to comply, they won't be allowed to produce drugs because the regulation will be imposed on all companies within ASEAN," said Ferry.

The APC now groups pharmaceutical associations from five ASEAN countries: Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Indonesia is represented by the Indonesian Pharmaceutical Association (GPFI).

The other five ASEAN members -- Brunei, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar -- have yet to establish their own pharmaceutical associations.

"Besides trying to set up standards for drug-making procedures, the conference members will also discuss how to keep the drugs at affordable prices," added Ferry, who is also the head of the industry division at the GPFI.