Philippines lawmakers want drug firms to submit annual marketing expenses reports

Pharmaceutical companies that fail to submit annual reports of their marketing expenses to the Philippines Secretary of Health face a fine of 500,000 pesos ($11,415) and revocation of the manufacturer's or labeler's business permit once a new bill submitted to the country's House of Representatives become law.

House Bill 1228 authored by Representative Diosdado "Dato" Arroyo (2nd District, Camarines Sur) and co-authored by his mother Rep Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2nd District, Pampanga), would create policy decisions as regards the problem of high medicine costs in the Philippines, where the pharmaceutical market was valued at around $2.6 billion in 2009.

"Congress should be informed of the current level of marketing costs in relation to total production cost of drug manufacturers in order to fill in the information gap in their minds," said Mr Arroyo, who believes that the cost of medicines in the Philippines is among the highest in the world.