Bitter pill to swallow for Tamiflu abuse

The Government Inspectorate last week proposed that the government ask the Ministry of Health (MoH) to punish those who took advantage of the situation.

The inspectorate accused the MoH of having wasted 10 million pills of Tamiflu worth $14,400, while also accusing four local Tamiflu providers of selling it at high prices and of earning high commissions of $6.6 million from foreign exporters.

The inspectorate’s recent inspection results cover the MoH’s Tamiflu-related problems. On November 7, 2005, the MoH negotiated with the F. Hoffmann La Roche Company to import 25 million Tamiflu pills from the company. The medicine could be used within 10 years and would be provided to the MoH by August, 2006.

On November 22, 2005, the MoH reported to the prime minister about its national programmes on producing and stockpiling Tamiflu and asked for permission to stockpile 30 million pills, equivalent to three million doses for three million patients, until June 30, 2006, even though the years 2003 and 2005 saw only 91 H5N1 sufferers in Vietnam.

However, the government allowed the MoH to produce and stockpile 20 million pills, of which 10 million pills had to be made in March, 2006 and the rest was stockpiled in form of materials to make 10 million pills of Oseltamivir, also used to cure H5N1.

According to the MoH, at that time, the World Health Organization warned Vietnam of the epidemic, which would climax in the country in March and April. Thus, the MoH bought materials from India, with the medicine to be used within three years only, instead of importing them from Roche.

The Government Inspectorate ascribed the reason for the government’s Tamiflu purchase revision to the MoH’s impractical proposal, which was made not based on epidemical occurrences. Specifically, there were no more H5N1 cases since 2006 in Vietnam, while the 10 million Indian pills could be used until March, 2009.

The MoH was also found to have violated the government’s regulations on purchasing medicinal materials.

According to the inspection results, the MoH also authorised four pharmaceutical firms including the Phu Yen Pharmaceutical & Medical Materials Company, the Cuu Long Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, the Imexpharm Pharmaceutical Joint stock Company and the Stada Vietnam Company, to import materials from foreign countries.

However, the MoH failed to report to the prime minister about its Tamiflu-related contracts with these companies. This meant that the MoH had violated the prime minister’s Decision No.1239/QD on stockpiling Tamiflu and Oseltamivir phosphate.

The Ministry of Finance’s (MoF) Circular No.121/2000/TT-BTC, dated December 29, 2000, also stated that in case a bidding package was worth VND1 billion ($52,631) or more, and subject to a bidding assignment, ministries and agencies were required to report the package to the MoF and the prime minister for approval.

However, the MoH failed to combine with the MoF to make the price frames for imported materials. The MoH’s contracts with the companies included no prices for medicines and no signatures from the companies.

These companies were found to have bought 2,030 kilogrammes of Oseltamivir materials from India’s Hetero Labs Company Limited, at a price of $17,500-$18,000 per kilogramme, far higher than the $12,000 per kilogramme reported by the MoH to the government on November 11, 2005.

The Phu Yen Pharmaceutical & Medical Materials Company, the Imexpharm Pharmaceutical Company and the Stada Vietnam Company spent $27.18 million purchasing 1,510 kilogrammes of materials from Hong Kong’s Stada Import Company. But after payment, these companies were refunded over $2.8 million.

The Cuu Long Pharmaceutical Company spent $9.1 million importing 520 kilogrammes of materials from Singapore’s Mambo Overseas Company Limited at the price of $17,500 per kilogramme. However, the buyer paid the seller over $5.25 million and kept the rest, which was not mentioned in the buyer’s financial report.

At present, these companies’ contracts with foreign partners are being further investigated.

However, former MoH Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien said in response to the inspection results that the results “totally failed to find evidence related to corruption by those in the MoH”.