ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Fourth Edition of the Drug Price Reference Index (DPRI) is a product of the hard work, dedication and team
efforts of the Department of Health (DOH) Pharmaceutical Divisions DPRI Team headed by Mr. Jeffrey T. Castro
together with his team members namely: Mr. Achilles V. Aragona, Ms. Priscilla Margarette H. Alimario, Mr. Lester
M. Custodio, and Ms. Geny C. Belmonte and also the guidance and supervision of the System Support Unit Head, Ms.
Vanessa J. Saulog - Obera;
Mr. Adell R. Azuelo, for the layout and hard copy of this publication;
Mr. Aris G. Posadas and Mr. Peter R. Emmans Palma for enhancing the DPRI database and website;
To all NDP compliance officers and EDPMS Helpdesks who aid in the implementation of the DPRI and to the
DOH Pharmaceutical Division family for their support;
All DOH Retained / Specialty Hospitals and Regional Offices for contributing their data to the Department of
Health.
We also acknowledge Dr. Paulyn Jean B. Rosell Ubial, our Secretary of Health and Assistant Secretary Agnette
P. Peralta for their unwavering support and commitment to enforce the DPRI in the government.
The high and extremely variable prices of medicines in the Philippines impact on access to effective, efficient and
equitable health care. In 2009, a study conducted by Health Action International revealed that there was extreme
variability in the procurement prices of essential medicines in the national and local public health facilities in the country.
On average, originator brands and generic equivalents were procured almost 16 times and 3 times higher, respectively,
compared to prices available on the international market. 1
The DOH-Central Office Bids and Awards Committee (DOH-COBAC) and DOH hospitals were shown to have more
efficient procurement prices compared to provincial and municipal health facilities, thus leading to variability in access
to essential medicines across the Philippines.
Republic Act (RA) 9502 or the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 gave the DOH
instruments to monitor and regulate the prices of drugs and medicines to protect consumers and the public procuring
entities from excessive mark-ups applied to prices of medicines resulting from information asymmetry and the lack of
effective market competition.
To address these issues, the DOH Pharmaceutical Division (formerly NCPAM) established a Drug Price Reference
Index (DPRI) for all essential medicines to guide all national and local government health facilities in the efficient
sourcing of pharmaceutical products in the public sector.
The DPRI lists the ceiling prices of essential medicines for government bidding and procurement set by the DOH for
all National and Local Government Health Facilities and Government Agencies. Winning bid prices of essential
medicines within the DPRI ceiling reflect efficient and effective procurement in the government. Their transparencies
and enforcement ensure consumer access to medicines and protection from excessive price mark-ups on medicines.
The DPRI only reflects the acquisition costs including landed cost, packaging, drug content, quality assurance,
manufacturing overheads and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fees. The DPRI excludes other costs such as
pharmacy services, preparation and storage fees, and other reasonable pharmacy mark-ups, which are now being
evaluated by the DOH.
The DPRI aims to improve the efficiency and good governance in the pricing and procurement of medicines in the
public sector through establishing a transparent and publicly available reference price for affordable and quality
medicines. It also aims to guide the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) in setting reimbursement caps for
medicines both for inpatient and outpatient services.
All government entities should be guided by the DPRI when procuring medicines. It shall be applied to all forms of
procurement such as public bidding, direct contracting, shopping, negotiated procurement, emergency
procurement and consignment to ensure that the government achieves the best value for money in sourcing essential
medicines.
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1 Douglas B, Tisocki K (2009) Public Procurement Prices of Medicines in the Philippines. Health Action International.
The DPRI is computed based on the prevailing public tender prices of the previous year (2015) reflected in the actual
Purchase Orders (POs) submitted by the DOH Retained Hospitals, ROs, Central Office Bids and Awards Committee
(COBAC) and Philippine Pharma Procurement Inc. (PPPI) to the DOH.
Only data coming from reputable suppliers are considered in the database which means that they should be licensed by
the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and have a certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice issued by
the FDA.
In general, the drug price reference is set at the Median or the 50th percentile across the range of prevailing tender prices
of essential medicines for each preparation and strength. However, for drugs and medicines with only 1 participating
manufacturer, the DPR is set at the lowest winning bid from a reputable supplier. Projected inflationary cost (3% per
annum) and testing for interchangeability (bioavailability and bioequivalence) for certain drugs based on the latest
data provided by FDA have already been considered in the calculation of the DPR.
For innovator drugs approved for inclusion in the Philippine National Formulary, the price may be set by referencing
with relevant international markets particularly those with similar income status (i.e. Thailand, India) and through
international reference price (MSH). It may also be informed by economic evaluations conducted in the Philippines used
by the DOH to value their claimed clinical benefits and negotiate tender prices where an innovative pharmaceutical
product has only one supplier.
The DPRI is being updated annually. All DOH hospitals and ROs submits a copy of their latest purchase orders to the
DOH Pharmaceutical Division for annual collection and analyzation of price data. The updated DPRI is based on the
procurement price data of medicines from the previous year.
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The Reference Price was based lon the cheapest price gathered through market survey
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The Reference Price was based from the International Reference Price Indicator Guide
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The Reference Price was based on the proposed list price of the pharmaceutical company upon its inclusion in the Philippine National Formulary
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The Reference Price was based on the proposed list price of the pharmaceutical company upon its inclusion in the Philippine National Formulary
The Reference Price was based from the Thailand Drug Reference Price
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The Reference Price was based from the previous procurement price of National Kidney and Transplant Institute
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The Reference Price was based from the 2016 Procurement Price of DOH COBAC
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The Reference Price was based on the cheapest price gathered through market survey
The data for Bivalent HPV Vaccine can be availed at Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), you may download their Vaccine Price Data at
www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=34166&Itemid=270&lang=en