Department of Health(DOH)

Dear Ryan Cuartero Please be informed that your request has been endorsed to the Health Technology Assessment Division (HTAD) for action. Kindly wait for their response, thank you

November 4, 2022 Dear Ryan Cuartero, Greetings! Thank you for your request dated Oct 21, 2022 06:25:22 AM under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch. Your Request You asked for Remdesivir for Covid-19 Part 2. Response to Request Your FOI request is approved. Below are the responses to your requests: 1. The costs (direct and indirect) of the health technology being assessed must be considered as this will have implications for the government. This is in accordance with Sec. 34 of the UHC Act which states the HTA criteria for assessment including cost-effectiveness and household financial impact. Also, this will ensure the efficient use of the taxpayers'/government’s funds. According to the updated Suggested Retail Price (SRPs) for emergency essential medicines due to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at the website: https://pharma.doh.gov.ph/2022/04/22/updated-suggested-retail-price-srps-for-emergency-essential-medicines-and-medical-devices-due-to-the-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-health-event-as-of-january-19-2022-cloned-3467/#:~:text=The%20COVID-19%20investigational%20drug,of%20Php%20140.00%20per%20capsule, the SRP of Remdesivir 100mg vial is Php1,900.00. 2. As of 16 May 2021, the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) at the website: https://www.idsociety.org/practice-guideline/covid-19-guideline-treatment-and-management/ suggested against the use of remdesivir for patients with COVID-19 on invasive ventilation and/or ECMO (conditional recommendation, very low certainty of evidence due to concerns with risk of bias and imprecision) because there was a failure to show a reduction in mortality and in time to recovery despite the, lower incidence of the serious adverse event. This conclusion by the IDSA was based on the combined results of the following randomized control trials (RCTs): ● WHO solidarity consortium ● Beigel et al., 2020 ● Wang et al., 2020 They also noted that additional clinical trials are needed to provide increased certainty about the potential for both benefit and harms of treatment with remdesivir, as well as to understand the benefit of treatment based on disease severity. Thank you Your right to request a review If you are unhappy with this response to your FOI request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response by writing to DOH Central Appeals and Review Committee, at [email protected]. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made within 15 calendar days from the date when you received this letter. We will complete the review and tell you the result within 30 calendar days from the date when we receive your review request. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Office of the President under Administrative Order No. 22 (s. 2011). Thank you. Respectfully, FOI Decision Maker FOI Receiving Officer