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Jokowi orders BPOM to reduce drug prices to match Malaysia, Singapore
Straight out of the blocks, the new BPOM head has announced a presidential initiative to lower medicine prices in Indonesia, which he said were up to four times higher than those in neighboring countries.
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A woman browses an aisle displaying over-the-counter medication at a Hypermart outlet in Jakarta, in this file photo dated March 26, 2013. (JP/Nurhayati/Adi)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo wants to reduce medicine prices in Indonesia to levels comparable to neighboring countries, according to Taruna Ikrar, the newly appointed head of the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).
"The President instructed us to handle medicine prices to align at least with generic drug prices or those in neighboring countries like Malaysia, the Philippines or Singapore,” Taruna said on Tuesday, as quoted by news portal Detik.com, adding that the agency was to collaborate with the health and trade ministries to address the issue.
He said the President had received a report showing that drug prices in Indonesia were up to 400 percent higher than prices abroad.
Taruna, who took the agency’s helm on Tuesday, highlighted several factors that contributed to high drug prices, including significant marketing costs.
"Typically, drug prices in Indonesia are high due to promotional and advertising costs,” he explained.
“We need to work with [pharmaceutical] companies to curb these expenses. Logically, if we reduce these costs, prices should drop.”
Read also: Expensive medicines in Indonesia? It's just not true
