Govt plays down fears about drugs scarcity

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)