Pool purchasing to cut Asean’s medicine costs, strengthen supply, says expert

Malaysian health, defense, and higher education ministries have been pooling medicine purchases, resulting in a 17.7% savings of RM179.6 million, according to a pharmacy expert. Amrahi Buang, president of the Malaysian Pharmacists Society, said that expanding this strategy to the entire ASEAN region could further lower costs and strengthen the region's supply resilience.

Consolidating demand for high-cost and rare disease medicines could create larger order volumes, giving countries more bargaining power when negotiating with pharmaceutical manufacturers. Amrahi highlighted that Malaysia's domestic success with pooled procurement of 82 medicines for healthcare facilities has provided a strong indication that a regional Asean model could yield even greater benefits.

However, he noted that regional savings would depend on various factors such as medicine types, economic capacities, and regulatory requirements. The proposed procurement mechanism would require reliable demand forecasts, common product specifications, transparent pricing, and guaranteed purchase volumes from participating countries.

This initiative is part of the Asean drug security and self-reliance action plan under the Asean Strategic Health Agenda 2026-2030, launched during the 17th Asean Health Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur.