Govt denies drug prices here too high
Govt denies drug prices here too high
JAKARTA (JP): The government has denied an allegation by a powerful consumer group that drug prices in Indonesia are among the most expensive in the Asia Pacific region.
Iwan Darmansyah, an official of PT Askes, the state health insurance company, said on Friday that the allegation made by the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) was totally groundless.
Iwan refuted the foundation's claim that drug prices in Indonesia are high because of the country's reliance on imported raw materials.
"If we were to produce our own raw materials for medicine, the prices of our drugs would be even more expensive," he said at the launching of Askes's new List and Ceiling Price of Drugs, a reference guide for doctors and drug stores of the amounts that will be reimbursed to Askes members.
"No country is self sufficient in producing its own raw materials for prescription drugs," he said. Some investors have tried to produce raw materials such as paracetamol and amphicilin in Indonesia, he said, but the projects were abandoned for one reason or another.
YLKI published on Thursday a study that it jointly carried out with Consumers International. The study found drug prices in Indonesia to be among the highest in the region, sometimes four to five times higher.
The foundation urged the government to control the prices of drugs while ensuring safety standards. It also proposed the establishment of a board to ensure that imported raw materials for drugs are not excessively priced.
Iwan said the report could raise false expectations that drug prices in Indonesia can be brought down.
Wisnu Katim, the Director General of Drug and Food Supervision at the Ministry of Health, regretted YLKI's "hasty" decision to go public with the report and questioned the validity of its findings.
"In comparing the prices of medicine in other countries, they have to treat the whole set of medicine prices in order to make a fair comparison," he said.
He said the study was "somewhat naive" because the foundation did not address the complexities of the local pharmaceutical industry.
Wisnu said market forces ensure that no manufacturer can fix or hike its prices at will, especially now with the increasing availability of cheaper generic medicines.
"If a consumer finds the drug prescribed by his doctors too expensive, he can switch to generic medicine," he said.
As of February this year, Askes's insurance program included employees from 1,163 companies and institutions, including the civil service, and 162,177 individual participants. (31)