Putting value to health the GSK way

Almost a quarter of century working in the pharmaceuticals industry has helped Daisy Cembrano appreciate the drastic changes taking place in the sector.

Gone were the days when branded medicine was synonymous to expensive medication. With the Value Health program of leading research-based pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), essential antibiotics and other medication for common ailments have become more affordable.

In third-world countries such as the Philippines, healthcare loses priority. For majority of Filipinos who live near or below the poverty line, the cost of medication has become simply prohibitive.

Some have to resort to discontinuing maintenance medication or even to altering the doctor’s prescription by skipping dosages or cutting medicine tablets in half. 

According to Cembrano, GSK vice president-commercial head for Value Health, essential antibiotics like cotrimoxazole, amoxicillin, cefaclor, erythromycin and cephalexin, as well as medication for common ailments such as ambroxol, ranitidine, paracetamol, salbutamol, and rifampicin are now within the reach of the underprivileged members of society under the Value Health program.

The program is in support of the government’s goal to improve accessibility of medical treatment to all Filipinos, and to ease affliction from frequent ailments such as coughs, hyperacidity, tuberculosis, asthma and bacterial infections.

Cembrano, who started as a medical representative for Glaxo way back in 1982 after graduating from the University of the Philippines where she was a student leader, explains that the reduction in prices is short of drastic. For instance, the price of Zantak was reduced by 14 percent while that of Amoxil was cut by 34 percent.

The Value Health program began in Jan. 2004 with only nine medications included in the price-reduction scheme. The number has increased to 14 brands, which accounts for a small percentage of GSK’s 378 brands but are responsible for 18 percent of revenues.

The program consists not only of bringing the cost of medicines down but also selling them in smaller quantities. For instance, the Ventolin spray for asthma which is good for several doses is now available in powder form good for one spray, which is in keeping with the Filipinos’ fascination for "sachets" or "tingi."

According to Cembrano, the Generics Act, which mandated the use of the generic name when the physician prescribes a medicine,  is largely responsible for drastically bringing down the cost of medication in the country, although she stresses that not all generic drugs sold are the same. "Not all manufacturers have the formulation," she emphasized.

It also helped that GSK’s exclusive patents to these drugs which it developed have expired and have become "off patent brands," making them available for production by other manufacturers.

Because GSK had to compete to maintain its market, the company made a decision to assert the supremacy of its formulations.

The Value Health program is unique to the Philippines and because of its contributions, it was the winning Asia-Pacific entry to the International Commercial Excellence Exchange of GSK International.

GSK has also recently launched the Value Health patient programs, which makes medicine for the treatment of serious conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases more affordable.

The patient programs provide support to patients with discounts and educational materials. After prescription by a physician, patients can simply join the program.

Sembrano, who joined Glaxo shortly before it entered the Philippine market, was the perfect choice to head the Value Health Program. She was promoted to medical communications specialist in Feb. 1983, or eight months after joining the company as a medical representative, making hers the shortest stint as med-rep in the company’s history.

She then became product planning officer, product manager, senior product manager, group product manager, market planning manager, marketing manager, business development manager, Value Health business director, and finally vice-president.

Her commitment to the company, to her job, and to health are beyond question.