Pharmaceutical industry may face drug shortages

Pharmaceutical industry may face drug shortages

JAKARTA (JP): The city chapter of the Federation of
Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs has strongly urged foreign banks to
accept its members' letters of credit (L/Cs) issued by local
banks.

The capital would otherwise face a serious shortage of
medicines as the industry could no longer produce medicines due
to the absence of imported substances, the federation's chairman
Achmad Ruhiat said Tuesday.

The industry is 90 percent reliant on imported raw materials,
he said, adding: "If we cannot not import materials, we will
produce nothing."

Federation data reveals that the city's pharmaceutical
companies have not been able to import raw materials since
November as their L/Cs have been rejected by foreign banks, he
said.

"Even though we have enough money it's not a guarantee that we
can run our businesses properly because the current import system
relies on the L/Cs system," he said.

Following the rupiah's significant drop against the U.S.
dollar since July, the price of medicines -- as with other goods
and services -- has skyrocketed between 30 percent and 300
percent, Achmad said.

The rejection of companies' L/Cs by overseas banks has not
only burdened the industry but could also badly hurt the people,
he warned.

But the industry is not the only sector facing such problems.

Almost all Indonesian importers have complained of similar
treatment from foreign banks who fear companies cannot service
their commitments.

The head of the pharmacy division of the City Regional Health
Office, Azwar Daris, has said the rejection of L/Cs has also
affected many public hospitals as their medicine stocks and
pharmacy equipment have dropped to emergency levels.

"Injection needles, laboratory equipment and dialysis machines
are very difficult to get nowadays," Azwar, who accompanied
Achmad, said Tuesday.

Therefore, his office has urged all public hospitals here to
cooperate with related institutions to get more medicine and
pharmacy equipment supplies, he added.

"We have also agreed that from now on public hospitals are
free to buy drugs directly from producers without having to go
through a bidding process first as required in the past." Azwar
said.

The bidding process only complicates procedures whereas ailing
people should be treated as soon as possible, he said.

Azwar also lamented that drug producers had hiked prices so
much that many drugstores had been forced to close.

"Producers have already hiked prices two or three times. No
wonder drugstores cannot afford to buy the medicine."

According to Achmad, the federation has just established an
information exchange forum designed to help coordinate the supply
of medicines and medical equipment.

"The forum hopes health units will reveal information on their
medical and equipment stocks so that if others need the
materials, they can exchange supplies," he said.

The head of the City Health Agency, Aslan Lasman, said Tuesday
the city was also facing shortages of drug packaging.

"Some drugstores have hiked prices of medicines because the
cost of packaging is also soaring," Aslan said.

In a bid to solve the problem, he said that from now on
medicines would be packaged in a thin plastic bag.

"They're cheap and available almost everywhere," he added.

City councilor Afiff Hamka from Commission E for welfare
affairs said Tuesday soaring prices and a lack of medicines plus
the potential spread of cholera, diarrhea or dengue fever in the
city during the current rainy season would further burden many
Jakartans. (ind/edt)