The research-based biopharmaceutical sector in the country reiterates our firm commitment to uphold high ethical and professional conduct in all our interactions.
During the 60th anniversary of the Philippine Press Institute, the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) launched our “I Stand for Integrity” campaign to demonstrate our firm resolve to uphold professionalism in our conduct. Senate Committee on Health and Demography Vice-Chairman Senator JV Ejercito and PPI Chairperson Rolando Estabillo joined PHAP in the ceremony where we amplified our campaign for ethics and professionalism in the pharmaceutical industry.
“In the healthcare community, unethical behavior hurts not just reputations. It also harms patients and deprives them of the quality healthcare they deserve. Ethical interactions, on the other hand, help ensure that medical decisions are made in the best interests of patients,” said PHAP President Dr. Diana Edralin during the event.
In a historic event this year, all the 87 Department of Health (DoH)-retained hospitals signed the Philippine Consensus Framework for Ethical Collaborations, as endorsed by Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa, during the National Health Sector Meeting in Legazpi City, Albay.
It was at the height of the pandemic in 2020 when we ratified our own Philippine Consensus Framework with the support of an initial 20 signatories from various healthcare organizations, including PHAP, the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations, the Philippine Medical Association, the Philippine Pharmacists Association, and the Philippine Nurses Association, along with a number of DoH-retained hospitals. The Consensus Framework aims to put patients at the center of all efforts through the advancement of ethical principles.
The Consensus Framework’s principles are: Put Patients First; Support Basic and Ethical Research and Innovation; Ensure Independence and Ethical Conduct; Promote Transparency and Accountability; Establish Trust and Solidarity; Prioritize Quality Care and Innovation; and Foster Respect for All.
Signatories to the Consensus Framework in the Philippines have adopted the principles of the “Consensus Framework for Ethical Collaboration Between Patients, Organizations, Healthcare Professionals, and the Pharmaceutical Industry” which was first developed in 2014 by several global umbrella organizations, namely the International Alliance of Patient Organizations, the World Medical Association, the International Council of Nurses, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), and the International Pharmaceutical Federation.
The Philippine Consensus Framework for Ethical Collaboration is an initiative being pushed forward by country counterparts of the abovementioned reputable global healthcare organizations. PHAP is the country counterpart of the IFPMA.
Meanwhile, the ethical promotion of prescription medicines is vital to the pharmaceutical industry’s mission of helping patients through research and development of new and innovative medicines. Ethical promotion helps to ensure that healthcare professionals (HCPs) have access to the right information they need and that patients have access to the right medicines at the right time.
With this, PHAP developed our own Code of Practice fully aligned with global and regional codes as well as national laws. Established in 1993, the Code seeks to preserve the independence of the decisions taken by HCPs in prescribing medicines to patients. It also emphasizes that industry relationships with HCPs must support, and be consistent with, their professional responsibilities for their patients.
The PHAP Code mandates all our 41 member companies to maintain high ethical standards in the conduct of promotional activities to HCPs, Patient Groups, and Patient Organizations and comply with applicable legal, regulatory, professional requirements and international guidelines on face-to-face and virtual interactions. Compliance with the Code of Practice is a pre-requisite to membership, and is governed by an independent ethics committee which is composed of the country’s health and academic luminaries.
Aside from developing the PHAP Code, we also supported the development of and fully adopted the DoH’s implementing guidelines on the promotion and marketing of prescription products and medical devices. The guidelines aim to ensure that ethical interactions between industry and other stakeholders shall be guided by the principles embodied in the 2011 Mexico City and Kuala Lumpur Business Codes of Ethics as endorsed by heads of states of APEC Member economies, including the Philippines.
PHAP members diligently comply with the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines on the disclosure of financial relationships with HCPs. Our members regularly submit financial reports to the FDA.
PHAP likewise developed the Integrity and Proficiency Program for the Pharmaceutical Sector, a pioneering training tool designed to help ensure that pharmaceutical companies’ interactions with HCPs, medical institutions. and patient organizations, are at all times ethical, appropriate, and professional.
We strongly believe that the promotion of ethics requires a whole-of-society approach. As such, we urge government agencies, patients, and patient organizations, healthcare professionals and providers, the private sector, business entities, not-for-profit groups, and everyone who has interactions around healthcare delivery in the country to join us and be a signatory of the Philippine Consensus Framework.
We at PHAP stand for integrity. Our first obligation is to health, our first loyalty belongs to Filipino patients, and our essence is integrity.
Teodoro B. Padilla is the executive director of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines, which represents the biopharmaceutical medicines and vaccines industry in the country. Its members are in the forefront of research and development efforts for COVID-19 and other diseases that affect Filipinos.
