SOLON PUSHES FOR COMPETITIVE BIDDING IN BIGGEST VACCINE TENDER

HOUSE Committee on Health chair Rep. Angelina Tan reaffirmed her call for an open, competitive bidding process in the procurement of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs), the biggest vaccine tender in the country’s history.

In a recent media forum, Tan underscored the benefits that such a tender can give to the government in the long run. She noted that ensuring that the procurement of PCVs is done in such a way that no single manufacturer is favored is an important element in the government’s immunization program.

“The specifications in the call for bidding should not favor a single brand,” Tan stressed.

Of the total budget for vaccines, some P4.9 billion—or 70% of the total budget for the Expanded Program for Immunization in children—was for PCVs, which aim to guard against Invasive Pneumococcal Diseases (IPDs), the largest cause of death for Filipino children under five. This is the biggest vaccine tender in the country’s history.

Late last year, the Department of Health (DOH) suspended a call for bidding for PCVs after medical experts noted that new evidence regarding the two existing PCVs in the market–PCV10 and PCV13–came out.

Health Undersecretary Dr. Ma. Rosario Vergeire explained in the same forum that the DOH suspended the bidding for PCVs after new evidence that they need to look into more carefully was presented.

“Nung lumabas ang bagong ebidensiya na sinubmit sa atin, ang desisyon namin ay ipasok muna sa Health Technology Assessment Center (HTAC). HTAC is reviewing the procurement, which is really the right process. Ngayon po hindi pa lumalabas ang recommendation ng HTAC,” Vergeire revealed.

“Hindi natin itinigil ang programa, hinihintay lang namin ang recommendation ng HTAC at itutuloy natin ang programa,” she added.

The DOH previously requested the HTAC to review the National Immunization Program (NIP), particularly the Pneumococcal Vaccination Program for children, in light of new 2017 and 2019 evidence from the World Health Organization (WHO).

In February 2019, WHO reaffirmed this earlier position saying that the two available PCVs in the market are equally effective in preventing overall pneumococcal diseases in children. The position paper also states that there is at present insufficient evidence of a difference in the net impact of the two available PCVs on overall disease burden.

For her part, Dr. Lulu Bravo, an epidemiologist and professor of Pediatric Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the College of Medicine of UP Manila, stressed that the new evidence regarding PCVs that came out recently came from experts themselves.

“According to the WHO, when it comes to pneumococcal vaccination for children, both PCV10 and PCV13 are just as good. The important thing is cost-effectiveness,” Bravo noted. “We should follow what the WHO says, being experts in their field. If you cannot believe WHO, who will you believe?” she added.

In the same media forum, epidemiologist Dr. Troy Gepte supported the DOH’s move to have the PCV procurement assessed, stressing that the HTAC review is indeed mandated by law.

“It is something that we need to undergo so we can have a more objective way of determining both the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of any medicine, vaccine, product or procedure that goes through our medical system,” Gepte noted.

When asked about the P4.9-billion budget for PCVs, Vergeire said, “Talagang mahal po yung bakuna. Matagal na naming pinag-aralan yan, late last year pa. Kaya nga po ay humingi na ng tulong sa HTAC. We wanted to know if we are being cost-effective. Lalo na mayroon na tayong pangangailangan sa mga ibang bakuna. Kailangan na talagang pag-aralan ang gastusin sa vaccine.”

Tan also stressed, “Both vaccines exist. If the health assessment proves that both PCV10 and PCV13 have the same effects, then we need to go through a procurement process that’s open and competitive so the government can save on costs.”