What the private sector says about MeTA

Posted on 23 July 2009

Johannes Waltz, Pfizer

“What we particularly like about MeTA is the multi-stakeholder approach and the collaborative way forward. Each stakeholder can contribute in his or her own way and to the fullest extent possible to improve access to medicines in the developing world.

We are interested in working together on supply chain issues in developing countries to find a solution. In the developed world supply chain we have three or four players. In developing countries we have maybe 20-30 players. It is in our interest to work this out collaboratively with other participants in the supply chain. In the past, the industry was challenged when people said, ‘if you reduce your prices then everything will be fine’. There is now increasing recognition of the numbers and variety of people involved in the supply chain at country level and it is clear that a solution is not simple. We deliver medicines at port of entry, but we don’t have an influence over what happens between port of entry and bedside. We can only benefit by making the process more transparent and working out what the problems are between port of entry and bedside and how to resolve them.” (June 2009)

Matti Ojanen, AstraZeneca

 “We support the overall objectives of what MeTA is trying to do and we think that a multi-stakeholder approach is the best way forward. It is important to include the private sector, government and NGOs. It seems the best way to address very complex issues.

Efficient and robust supply chains are key to our business so it is in our interest to make sure the products reach the patients as efficiently and as quickly as possible. MeTA is trying to improve the supply chain and if it is going to improve the efficiency and other aspects of the supply of medicines in these countries, then we want to support this.” (June 2009)

Nazeem Mohamed, Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and co-Chair of the MeTA Uganda Council:

“The private sector has a huge role to play in terms of improving access to medicines in developing countries. Normally, there are number of projects that go on, but the private sector is not involved. So we are delighted that MeTA thinks that the private sector should be around the table. In Uganda most of the drugs are dispensed through private facilities anyway so really the private sector has to be involved if we have any chances of developing a sustainable model of improving access.” (June 2009)

Chris Mockler, Secretariat of the American Pharmaceutical Group

“MeTA is something that we are very supportive of and something that we are extremely pleased is happening, because we think it is extremely vital that all those involved actually get round the table and talk to each other and understand what is going on. There is always a danger that companies, and I include research-based companies in this, go into silos and don’t know what each other is doing. The advantage of having a multi-stakeholder council in each of the countries is that they talk to each other, they learn from each other and from what I have heard back from the councils, this is one of the great benefits. The expectations should be high, but not too high. I think that we can achieve more transparency, that we can probably achieve better systems and we can set out models, but we must not assume that we can transform the healthcare structure, and certainly not overnight. It is a long term project.” (June 2009)

Reiner Gloor, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines and MeTA Philippines Council member:

"We made presentations at the last forum in January where we showed how the pricing structure is in the Philippines, which is a mystery to many people who think that retail stores and distributors take huge margins. We were able to prove that this is not necessarily the case. I think this has been appreciated, for example, by NGOs who think very often that price is the only issue. They are coming around to realising that safety and efficacy are equally important and that we have to work together and try to convince the government to look at real health care reform which would provide a safety net to the poor.” (June 2009)

Mariam Haxaire-Theeuwes, Tibotec

“MeTA is a very exciting initiative. I think there is a lot of opportunity for it to act as a catalyst for change…The private sector can bring its experience; the challenges that the private sector has faced in trying to achieve access to medicines, sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully, and to bring that experience to the table to share with a broader group, to perhaps have a better chance of overcoming the hurdles and barriers to access.” (June 2009)

Michael Rabbow, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH

“We believe in the process because to talk to government, to talk to industry, (both generics and research and development-based), to talk to civil society; only that will help us to grant access to medicines. The ownership of the whole process has to be with the country you operate in. The country should define the need based on the problems they have. Then you come in, not as a watchdog, but as an instrument which assesses and looks into the effectiveness of the mechanisms already applied and what can be changed. There, all of us should be prepared to assist. I believe the process is good. It is the governments of the respective countries bearing the responsibility. MeTA comes in as an auxiliary tool and we are all there to assist.”

Paul Lartey, LaGray Chemical Company Ghana

“I got involved in MeTA because I was asked to represent the local pharmaceutical manufacturing group known as the Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Association of Ghana. My interest in MeTA - in fact the interest of the industry - is to actually make all of our information available. There is a certain perception that the local industry produces sub-standard drugs. I think it would be good that transparency comes up around this, to see how we are regulated, to see the quality of the drugs we make, and if the quality of the drugs we make is not up to standard I think we need to be held to book.” (April 2009)

GlaxoSmithKline

“Rather than just being suppliers of medicines, we must also support governments in their efforts to strengthen health systems, developing innovative ways to deliver our medicines to the people who need them most. Our approach must support innovation, which is critical to improving access in the longer term. In 2008 our work in this area included working with the UK government on global health issues and in the development of the Department for International Development’s (DFID’s) Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) and the review of its Good Practice Framework for pharmaceutical companies. (GSK Annual Report 2008)