Postponed PCV tender won’t have impact on supply —DOH

The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday said that the deferment of bidding for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) will not affect the supply situation.

The DOH has postponed the bidding for P4.9 billion worth of PCV stocks for 2020 to give way to a review of data raised by pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said, noting that GSK asked for a reconsideration of its vaccine as a “viable option.”

The DOH conducts open, competitive bidding but the PCV process was questioned because its specifications pertained to a single vaccine, the PCV-13.

“I’ve been told by the program that they have the supplies for 2019. So ‘yung binibid naman talaga nila is for 2020 pa,” Domingo told reporters in Manila.

“Kung aaralin naman, magkakaroon ng assessment before they proceed with the bid. They don't see any problems doon sa supplies,” he added. "Hindi naman maapektuhan (ang supplies). Talagang for use pa for 2020.”

Anna Ong-Lim, president of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines, said there are two types of PCVs in the global market that are both effective in protecting against pneumococcal diseases, the biggest vaccine-preventable cause of death in children under five.

Earlier this year, the World Health Organization said both PCV10 and PCV13 “have been shown to be safe and effective” against pneumococcal disease caused by vaccine serotypes when administered in three or four doses.

But some industry stakeholders were supposedly concerned by the seeming preference of the DOH to make a tender for only one PCV type: PCV13.

Health Assistant Secretary Maria Vergeire was quoted in an earlier report as saying that PCV10 is “still undergoing health technology assessment and not yet included in the Philippine National Formulary.” —VDS, GMA News