Drug firms to get in sync

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.