Govt plays down fears about drugs scarcity

JAKARTA (JP): The government has moved to allay growing public concern about shortages of medicines and their skyrocketing prices by stating that raw materials are sufficient and production is increasing.

Minister of Health Farid Anfasa Moeloek said yesterday the government would be able to cut generic drug prices by an average of 20 percent by next month because imported stocks of raw materials had arrived.

The ministry issued a letter of credit worth US$48.9 million to import the raw materials and other medical supplies in February, including 24,000 dialysis kits and emergency equipment.

Moeloek said current stocks would be sufficient to meet national demand until August.

"Hopefully, we do not need to worry about the supplies of medicine, especially at the community health centers," the minister said after meeting with President Soeharto at his private residence on Jl. Cendana, Central Jakarta.

Drug prices soared in the last few months following the huge depreciation of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar which began in July last year. Most of the raw materials used in local drug manufacturing are imported.

The Ministry of Health announced last month that it would allocate up to $116 million to help pharmaceutical firms import raw materials at a fixed exchange rate of Rp 5,000 to the dollar.

Generics are manufactured by 54 of the 225 pharmaceutical firms operating in the country. Importation of raw materials reached $178.32 million in 1997, according to health ministry data.

Before the crisis hit, many Indonesians, particularly from the middle and upper classes, preferred patent drugs. Generics were primarily used at state-owned hospitals.

"The President has also advised people to boost the consumption of traditional drugs for their families, because their quality is often better than imported ones," Moeloek said. (prb)