More Indian imports for Philippines

The Philippines has imported another consignment of medicine from India,reports the Asia Pulse news service, quoting government officials as saying that the imports cost 20 million pesos ($386,200) but would have cost 100 million pesos if bought locally. The first shipment from India, last July, had cost 1.5 million pesos but would have cost 5 million pesos if purchased in the Philippines (Marketletter June 5, 2000).

The announcement follows the dismissal by a Regional Trial Court of a petition by the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines seeking to stop the imports. The judge ruled that the Association, which represents 73 mainly multinational drug companies, failed to prove that imports would lead to "injustice" and "irreparable harm" to the public and drug companies. The petition had also claimed that imports would lead to proliferation of substandard drugs and damage the companies' reputations.

However, the judge's order concluded that "the importation of similarly-branded medicines will be beneficial to patients of government hospitals by making these drugs available to them at a price lower than the prevailing price."