Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque assures the public that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will sign the Executive Order on Maximum Drug Retail Price (MDRP).
Duque discloses that the president is giving multinational drug companies up until July 18 to come up with their list of essential medicines which prices to be trimmed.
Presidential Spokesman Undersecretary Lorelei Fajardo said that the President instructed the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to revoke the license of companies which failed to comply with this requirement.
Medicines suggested by the DOH are those that are anti-diabetes, anti-asthma, anti-cancer, and antibiotics.
DOH is working on a two-tiered approach for the full implementation of the Cheaper Medicines Law. One is by way of competition through the entry of more generic drugs in the market and the other way is the Maximum Drug Retail Prices. (PIA)