THE Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said it has sought the help of pharmaceutical firms in the procurement of tocilizumab, the drug being used by hospitals in treating coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, which is now in short supply.
In an online press briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said “we still have supply (of tocilizumab) but only a few when we last checked,” the reason they have sought the help of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP).
“We are talking with different countries and suppliers of tocilizumab. Hopefully, it will push through so that we can secure additional supplies,” said Vergeire.
Former Philippine Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID) president. Dr Rontgene Solante said due to the shortage in supply of the tocilizumab, some patients are being forced to buy from the “black market.”
In a statement, the PHAP assured that it is already coordinating with its member companies regarding the availability of tocilizumab.
“Research-based companies that have local presence are working to make the Philippines as a priority country to receive supplies of these highly needed therapies,” said PHAP.
“PHAP member companies engage in weekly planning and inventory management with regional and global counterparts to monitor supplies, and if any become available, work on immediately redirecting these to the country,” it added.
It said some of their members have also teamed up with other biopharmaceutical companies to extensively scale-up production of the drug.
“This was done to speed up the production of COVID-19 vaccines, and now the same is being applied to therapeutics,” PHAP said of tocilizumab, an immunosuppressive drug that is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
The drug is currently being studied for the treatment of COVID-19, particularly in reducing the mortality of severe cases.
Solante, who heads the San Lazaro Hospital-Adult Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine Unit, said that while some patients manage to buy from the black market, the price is four times the original price.
“Some patients said they were able to buy at P70,000 to P75,000,” Solante added.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Eric Domingo urged the public to report black market operators to the government.
“If there are people selling outside of licensed outlets and above the ceiling price, they should report to (the) DOH or FDA,” Domingo said.
