"Indonesia is witnessing a stark discrepancy in the prices of medicines offered at one hospital and another," he remarked in Jakarta on Thursday.
Sadikin remarked that in Indonesia, some drugs not covered by the national health insurer BPJS Kesehatan are offered at prices up to four times higher than those in neighboring countries.
The minister then observed that certain factors, such as marketing and distribution processes, might have been responsible for the unfavorable prices of drugs in Indonesia.
Hence, Sadikin pushed for transparency in determining the prices of branded generic and innovative drugs.
He also highlighted the need to strike a balance between the efficacy of medicines and business profits to pave the way for a sustainable healthcare industry.
To that end, the government has decided to take several measures, such as negotiating the prices of drugs and conducting a health technology assessment.
Furthermore, Sadikin noted that the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) has been striving to fast-track the certification of drugs to make them accessible to people more quickly.
He then urged the agency to bolster its performance in issuing certificates and distribution permits for innovative medications.
Meanwhile, BPOM Head Taruna Ikrar underscored that his side has cut the duration of drug certification from 300 business days to only 90.
He added that the BPOM is determined to facilitate the establishment of collaboration between universities and industries for research on pharmaceutical innovations.
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Translator: Mecca Yumna, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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