Anwar said Malaysia should have adopted generic medicines long ago instead of relying on costly originator drugs from the US and Europe. The purchase of generic medicines, instead of the original brand names, by government hospitals began two years ago.
”We have lost tens of billions of ringgit in getting the best drugs from the US, where a pill costs RM100, when we can get the same medication for RM10 from India, Turkey, Brazil or China, as long as they fulfil our (medical) needs,” Anwar said at the launch of the new block at Hospital Seberang Jaya today.
“We are no longer tied to the outdated mentality of taking pride in expensive medications from the US and Europe.”
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, also called for shorter timelines for completing public health infrastructure projects, saying hospital construction should not take almost a decade.
The new Seberang Jaya hospital building, which began in 2016, was only completed last year.
“We need to learn from this experience (with this hospital). We need to learn from the contractor’s performance and from our approval processes in every department,” he said, urging states and local councils to fast-track land approvals for public health projects.
Generic drugs are safe, says health minister
Speaking at a press conference later, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad reiterated that generic drugs are as safe and effective as originator medicines.
He said that the generic-first policy had seen doctors in public health facilities prescribing such medicines more widely.
“In the last two years, not less than RM900 million has been saved (from this approach), and the amount will keep on increasing,” he said.
On Anwar’s remarks about health project delays, Dzulkefly said he and works minister Alexander Nanta Linggi were reviewing “sick” projects nationwide through a development committee he chairs.
He said some hospital projects in Sabah and Sarawak had been delayed up to a decade and the matter had been reported to the prime minister.
“I would like to stress to the contractors who have received the projects to deliver them on time.
“I have always said that we can’t afford to wait for 5-10 years (for these projects) as the people are waiting for them, and this is a great inconvenience to them,” he added.