JAKARTA: President Joko Widodo has tasked his Cabinet to immediately tackle high drug prices and the cost of medical equipment in Indonesia.
He emphasised that Indonesia’s medical industry needs to be resilient and prepared for future pandemics, and instructed ministers to work out strategies to enhance the pharmaceutical sector’s competitiveness, Health Minister Budi Sadikin said.
At a meeting on Tuesday (Jul 2) at the Presidential Palace, Mr Widodo also asked whether the prices of medicines and medical devices in Indonesia could be on par with neighbouring countries’.
Malaysia is among countries with the lowest medicine prices; drugs there can cost half the global average, according to British digital healthcare group Medbelle’s 2019 Medicine Price Index.
Indonesian media reported that the big price difference has led to an increase in online services that help Indonesian consumers ship medicines from Malaysia.
“The difference in medicine prices (in Indonesia) is three times, five times, compared to Malaysia, more expensive by 300 per cent to 500 per cent,” said Mr Budi as quoted by news outlet Kompas.
CNA previously reported on the cheaper prices of drugs in Malaysia and highlighted examples such as Twynsta, which treats hypertension, Micardis, which treats high blood pressure, and Lipitor, which reduces cholesterol levels.
A box of Twynsta containing four blisters costs RM66 (IDR220,000, or US$14) in Malaysia – or about IDR 55,000 per blister – but CNA found the drug being sold for IDR196,700 per blister at a well-known pharmacy chain in Indonesia. Drugs are typically sold in single blisters in the country.
A box containing two Micardis 40mg blisters in Malaysia costs RM62 (IDR210,000, or IDR105,000 per blister) while in Indonesia, it costs IDR279,000 per blister.
A box of three Lipitor 10mg blisters costs RM108 (IDR374,000, or IDR124,667 per blister) in Malaysia, while in Indonesia, a blister sells for IDR249,000.
