The Health August 2023 | Page 10

10

THE HEALTH | AUGUST , 2023

| Cover Story |

Iskandar Ismail
PHARMACY COMPETITION AND CONSOLIDATION
Recent retail pharmacy mergers and acquisitions have raised concerns as they can positively or negatively impact consumers and the market .
Recently , BIG Pharmacy announced it was buying competitor Caring Pharmacy in a deal worth nearly RM900 million . While it would not lead to price fixing given that there are still other large pharmacy retail chains such as AA Pharmacy , Guardian and Healthlane , it reduces competition to some extent given that BIG and Caring are prominent players in the market .
Commented Dr Radzi : “ Pharmacies in a competitive environment aim to provide better services , affordable or reasonable prices , and enhanced customer experiences to attract and retain customers .
“ This leads to innovation and advancements in the industry as pharmacies strive to set themselves apart from their competitors . As a result , the competition often leads to reduced medicine prices , improved service quality , and expanded value-added services .”
Meanwhile , Iskandar stated : “ It also widens access to healthcare . Increased competition may lead to pharmacies opening more branches in different locations , which makes pharmaceutical products and services more accessible to consumers across the country .
“ However , it could impact independent pharmacies , which we called community pharmacies . As larger pharmacy chains grow through consolidation , these

Encouraging local innovation and production
THE MALAYSIAN Competition Commission ( MyCC ) Chief Executive Officer ( CEO ) Iskandar Ismail MyCC encourages local medications / drug innovation as this can benefit the industry and consumers .
“ Investing in local medications / drugs can reduce its reliance on imported pharmaceutical products . By supplying the products , it can enhance Malaysia ’ s healthcare needs and decrease its weakness in supply chain disruptions and fluctuations in the international markets .
“ Furthermore , MyCC highly supports those industry players in producing medications locally . It can also lead to cost savings for the healthcare system , especially if local medications / drugs are more affordable than imported products . This could result in reduced healthcare expenses
for the government and individuals .
“ Malaysia should step up in producing local medication / drugs . It enhances Malaysia ’ s reputation and competitiveness in the global market . To step up local medications / drugs , we must be ready regarding expertise and business opportunities . All stakeholders should work hand in hand and support , especially the Ministry of Health as the authority in this matter .”
Meanwhile , Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations ( FOMCA ) President Datuk Dr Marimuthu Nadason , said by incentivising and supporting local manufacturing of medications and supplements , the government can reduce reliance on imports and potentially lower costs due to reduced transportation and import expenses .
For the record , leading local pharmaceutical manufacturing company Duopharma Biotech Berhad has launched biosimilars which helps reduce costs to consumers . A biosimilar is a biologic medical product that is an almost identical copy of an original product manufactured by a different company . Biosimilars are officially approved versions of original “ innovator ” products and can be manufactured when the original product ’ s patent expires , thus making them cheaper .
Meanwhile , Director-General of Health , Datuk Dr Radzi Abu Hassan assured that the Malaysian government ’ s procurement policy fully supports products from local manufacturers . “ Thus , it helps to create a healthy competitive environment for the pharmaceutical industry ,” he said .