DOH eyes restricting sale of TB drugs

MANILA, Philippines - Before the end of the year, drugs to treat tuberculosis (TB) may no longer be available in the market.

President Duterte is expected to sign by early September an executive order restricting the commercial sale of TB drugs, Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said yesterday.

She said the Department of Health is adopting the “unusual” strategy to stop the spread of TB, which remains to be among the top diseases killing Filipinos.

According to the 2016 National Tuberculosis Prevalence Survey (NTPS), about a million Filipinos have TB, but “many of them are unaware of their condition,” Ubial said.

The same survey also showed that 41 percent of those interviewed manifested symptoms of TB but did not take any action while 40 percent self-medicated.

The DOH TB registry for 2016 reflected only one-third of the one million Filipinos estimated to have TB.

She said that under the proposed EO, all TB drugs will be obtained from the DOH. This will allow the government to identify and monitor all cases nationwide.

“All TB cases will be reported to us and the DOH will be providing the necessary medications for free,” Ubial said.

Ubial the treatment course for TB, which takes six to nine months, would cost the government $30 (P1,530 at P51 to $1) per patient. In private facilities, the treatment costs could reach $100 (P5,100).

The treatment for multi-drug resistant TB takes two years and costs P250,000 per patient.

“The cost is part of the reasons why patients do not seek treatment,” Ubial said. 

With the drugs all coming from the DOH, Ubial said the government would be able to drastically eliminate multi-drug resistant TB, which is commonly caused by non-compliance to treatment.