Healthcare

The Philippine healthcare system is a dual health system composed of the public sector and the private sector. The public sector is largely financed through a tax-based budgeting system, where health services are delivered by government facilities run by the national and local governments. On the other hand, the private sector consists of for-profit and nonprofit health-care providers, is largely market-oriented where health care is generally paid for through user fees at the point of service. [15] In 2019, the Philippines Total Health Expenditure (THE) grew by 10.9%, reaching a total amount of approximately US$16.5 billion which comprises Current Health Expenditure 87.5) on hospitals, pharmacies and management, as well as Health Capital Formation Expenditure (12.5%). [16]

Belonging in the top 22% of the 240 sectors in the Philippines, it is no wonder that the pharmaceutical industry has become one of the fastest growing industries in the country and has steadily improved and increased annually. [17] Variety also plays a role in the pharmaceutical drugs selection in the Philippines. As pharmaceutical drugs are regulated in three segments: originator, branded generics and unbranded generics. A large chunk of the population of the Philippines buy pharmaceutical drugs that have lower costs; thus; many pharmaceutical corporations have leaned on producing both branded and unbranded generics for variety. [16]

While the pharmaceutical industry has flourished, there has been an influx in domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies in the Philippines. Among these are Novartis’ generic arm Sandoz, Taiwan’s Orient Europharma (OEP) and Getz Pharma of Pakistan. Moreover,there are more than 500 drug traders, 700 drug importers, and 5,000 drug distributors in the Philippines. Several companies have significantly contributed to the Philippines’ growing pharmaceutical industry. Of these corporations, multinational companies have dominated the entire pharmaceutical market sales, accounting for more than half of the total sales value. However, local corporations have become big competitors for multinational companies, especially in the sales of branded generic drugs in the market. [16]

The medical device market in the Philippines is expected to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% growing to US$884.3 million by the end of 2024 as reported by Fitch Solutions. The market is almost totally dependent on imports of high-value, low-volume products such as electro-medical devices, imaging equipment, radiation equipment, dialysis devices, and linear accelerators. Almost 100% of medical equipment and approximately 50% of medical disposables are imported. Local production is limited to accessories, spare parts (including customized parts), and disposables such as surgical gloves, syringes, and needles. Based on the FDA database, there were 14,443 registered Medical Devices and IVDs in the Philippines at the end of 2020 [18].