After 35 years of observing, researching and writing about Indonesia, I have my head in circles because the same stories keep repeating themselves: export-led growth as the savior of the economy, downstream value-addition as the savior of the economy, prices soaring after sudden import bans, trading partners furious at sudden export bans, etc.
Some of these stories haunt us because they remain true after decades. Others return to the headlines because we refuse to look closely at the facts or recognize the progress Indonesia has made. In the latter category, a recently unearthed story that convinces us that medicines are too expensive in Indonesia deserves top prize.
This story has been around since at least the 1980s and was largely true until 2014. Since then, the trope has periodically resurfaced, most recently from the mouth of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo earlier this month.
The health minister agreed, citing an unpublished report showing that medicines in Indonesia are four to five times more expensive than in Malaysia – and that would be true if, like the report’s authors, you only buy foreign-owned brands from international pharmacy chains.
However, our team at Pancasila University’s Drug Policy Research Center has been hard at work analysing drug prices in Indonesia, and our data tells a very different story.
To give a concrete example, the health ministry reported that Norvasc, a blood pressure drug made by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, was being sold at Wellings pharmacies in Indonesia for 7,650 rupiah (50 US cents) per five-milligram tablet, 45 percent more than in the chain’s home stores in Malaysia.
Two recent studies, one by Pancasila University and the other in collaboration with Brawijaya University, purchased 19 Norvasc samples from pharmacies, hospitals, doctors and online marketplaces in several Indonesian provinces. Prices ranged from 6,500 to 14,500 rupiah per tablet, with the most expensive coming from a private hospital in Jakarta. All were higher than the Malaysian price of 5,285 rupiah.
