Philippine pharmaceutical ranks 3rd most innovative in Southeast Asia

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine pharmaceutical industry ranked third most innovative in Southeast Asia, according to a report by the Singapore-based IMS Consulting Group.

The study was commissioned by the Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP).

PHAP said the study showed the Philippine pharmaceutical industry has over the past five years developed 55 vaccines to prevent childhood diseases, along with 76 molecules to reduce mortality from the top non-communicable disease killers.

According to the study, the Philippines follows two other Southeast Asian countries Thailand and Singapore in number of clinical trials, with 461 presently being undertaken.

The study also cited a report by the European Medicines agency in 2009 which ranked the Philippines eighth among the top 10 countries in the world with an annual growth in clinical trials at 30.9 percent.

“We believe that the pharmaceutical industry has a large part to play in building a stronger, healthier Philippines,” said PHAP executive director Teodoro Padilla.

“Both our local pharmaceutical companies as well as large multinationals have made great strides in making new medicines for measles, pneumonia, diarrhea, rubella, and other diseases,” he added.

The quality of clinical research in the Philippines was enhanced by partnerships between research-based pharmaceutical companies conducting local clinical trials and local contact research organizations (CROs).

Data culled from the Department of Health (DOH) show communicable diseases continue to claim millions of newborn Filipino babies. In particular, pneumonia is reported to be the number two cause of infant mortality in the Philippines, accounting for almost 12 percent of all infant deaths.

To address this, the 55 vaccines developed by Philippine pharmaceutical companies in the past five years were specifically made to reduce child mortality and combat communicable diseases. Among these vaccines, 17 are meant to prevent bacterial infections while 26 are intended to combat viral infections.

The past decade also saw an increasing number of deaths caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs), with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and respiratory disease as the top killers.

In response, the Philippine pharmaceutical industry developed 76 new molecules or combinations to battle these NCDs, with five anti-cancer molecules developed in 2014 alone.

Presently, cancer patients can choose among over 100 molecules to help them in their treatment. Patients having cardiovascular conditions also have over 160 molecules to choose from for their medication.