The big problem is price control of drugs, not the supply monopoly as claimed being held by Pharmaniaga Bhd, said government think-tank Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) in its recent study.

One conductor of the MyCC study, social activist Lim Mah Hui was reported as saying in the media that Pharmaniaga did not have a monopoly over supply but a virtual monopoly over logistics.

He said the study showed margins from the logistics business were thin and Pharmaniaga’s key performance index was to ensure drugs could be distributed.

The government is a big purchaser of drugs, but only for the public sector. If one opts for private healthcare, medicines are more expensive as margins at private hospitals are higher.

Lim noted prices of drugs were affected more by patents held by big multinational companies but acknowledged there was room for improvement.

Meanwhile, Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye in a media report published by The Malay Mail on Sept 11 said Pharmaniaga was responsible only for the logistics of supplying drugs in the Approved Product Purchase List (APPL) program, adding purchases came under the ministry.

He clarified the company earned a mark-up on purchase prices and the percentage was fixed.

Dr Lee said the APPL drugs, valued at about RM1.1bil in 2017 and RM1.2bil in 2018, were purchased via a tender board headed by MoH and not Pharmaniaga.

Source: LinkedIn Azlan Abu Bakar