More than 60,000 retail establishments, drug prices vary from place to place, how to manage?

Patients are buying medicine at Cho Ray Hospital (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City) - Photo: DUYEN PHAN

And in reality, drug prices are quietly rising, possibly due to exchange rates and many other reasons, but buyers see different prices every so often. While it's true that increased input costs lead to increased selling prices, is this reasonable?

With tens of thousands of drug retail outlets, a price control mechanism is needed.

Over 60,000 drug retailers are competing on price.

One day in mid-October, we took a prescription from a relative with type 2 diabetes to buy medicine. The prescription included Diamicron MR 30mg, FanuMet 50/500gr, and Toujeo Solostar subcutaneous injection.

We visited several pharmacies on Van Kiet Street, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, to inquire about the price of this prescription.

At pharmacy L., the staff quoted prices of 3,148 VND/tablet for Diamicron MR 30mg, 10,700 VND/tablet for FanuMet 50/500gr, and 510,000 VND/bottle for injectable medication. At pharmacy P., the staff stated that Diamicron MR 30mg cost 3,149 VND/tablet, FanuMet 50/500gr cost 10,378 VND/tablet, and injectable medication was out of stock.

Pharmacy H sells Diamicron MR 30mg for 3,500 VND/tablet; the other two medications are unavailable. Pharmacy B sells FanuMet 50/500gr for 11,000 VND/tablet; the other two medications are unavailable. Pharmacy O sells Diamicron MR 30mg for 3,300 VND/tablet; FanuMet is out of stock, and the injectable form is unavailable.

Thus, a survey of drug prices at 5 pharmacies shows that the price of Diamicron MR 30mg varies among pharmacies, ranging from 3,148 to 3,500 VND/tablet. FanuMet 50/500gr ranges from 10,378 to 11,000 VND/tablet.

According to statistics, Vietnam currently has 22,000 registered drug products but only 800 active ingredients, while Singapore has 1,200 active ingredients but only 10,000 registered products, and Japan has 1,600 active ingredients with approximately 10,000 registered products. The country has over 60,000 pharmacies/drugstores, but the scale and quantity of drugs supplied are uneven.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre newspaper , National Assembly representative Pham Khanh Phong Lan (Ho Chi Minh City) said that the large number of registrations for a single active ingredient leads to intense competition, with the cheapest option chosen during bidding, while many quality drugs are not selected. In addition, the explosion of wholesale companies and retail pharmacies leads to increased intermediary costs, and the increase in drug prices is due to this.

Improve the process and procedures for granting drug registration numbers.

According to delegate Pham Khanh Phong Lan, it is necessary to determine which drugs should be prioritized and which should have their registration numbers restricted, while also using technical barriers and assessing actual production conditions through professional organizations, as is being done in other countries. While prioritizing domestic production is important, in reality, many well-known domestic pharmaceutical companies have been acquired by foreign capital, leading to the consequence of pharmaceutical insecurity.

To develop the pharmaceutical industry, Ms. Lan believes that the procedures for granting drug registration numbers need to be improved, but the root cause must be addressed: the registration process is undirected, based solely on submitted documents, leading to overload and delays in updating new drugs.

At the same time, regulations should be re-established regarding the distance between pharmacies (what distance is required for a pharmacy to be licensed, to avoid excessive density); the role of licensed pharmacists working in pharmacies; the public display of licenses at pharmacies; and the strengthening of the role of professional associations.

More importantly, we must address the issue of drug sales being conducted through multiple layers of intermediaries, which leads to increased drug prices.

Regarding the declaration of wholesale and retail prices for essential medicines, the draft Pharmaceutical Law proposes a new method: publishing projected wholesale prices. Some experts argue that the published prices need to be controlled; otherwise, it will be no different from the current price declaration method. However, businesses are generally in agreement with this proposal.

Experts suggest that drug price management regulations need a specific mechanism compared to other product categories, due to the large number of drug products, complex price structure, and many fluctuating factors. The distribution system (manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, and retailers) is so large that some measures cannot be applied according to the general regulations of the Law on Prices, which apply to all types of goods.

The amended Pharmacy Law will boost the development of the pharmaceutical industry.

Speaking to the press on October 15th, a representative of a group of pharmaceutical businesses shared their anticipation for the amended and effective implementation of the Pharmaceutical Law, which they believe will boost the pharmaceutical industry. According to this representative, many obstacles regarding drug registration have been removed in the past two years, and the process of registering drugs for circulation has become faster than before.

"The draft amendment to the law includes a notable point regarding the reduction of administrative procedures. For example, currently, changing the packaging of a drug requires submitting a standard application which takes 12 months, but the draft proposes only requiring supplementary documents and a processing time of just 3 months."

"We also expect the licensing process to be faster so that new drugs can arrive in Vietnam sooner, because currently in the region, if new drugs become available, Singapore and Malaysia will have access to them earlier," this person said.

Regarding drug price management, if the amended Pharmaceutical Law is passed at the next session of the National Assembly, it will come into effect in early 2025. However, there will be a gap between the law's enactment and its effective date, as it is unclear whether to declare prices (according to current regulations) or publish prices (according to the draft). Guidance from state management agencies is urgently needed at this time.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hon-60-000-co-so-ban-le-gia-thuoc-moi-noi-mot-kieu-quan-sao-20241015223621582.htm