FOCUS ON National YP Groups: Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society Young Pharmacist Chapter
Malaysia: It’s all because your voice matters!

One of the biggest questions that a young pharmacist instinctively ask is ‘Why should we join our professional organization?’ It cost money and takes up plenty of our time! The reason we concluded at the YPC here in Malaysia is simple and it boils down to this – that your voice matters! Here is why.

YPC? What’s that?
The YPC stands for the Young Pharmacist Chapter of the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society (MPS). We are the representative organization for young pharmacists aged below thirty-five in Malaysia and we are an integral part of the local professional body, the MPS. We were founded around 2003-2004 but we truly got ourselves organized just in October last year. It was from then that we established a formal committee. As of today, we reach out to at least a thousand young pharmacists in Malaysia and we have around 20 active committee members.

Who are these cool looking Asians?
Like I said, we have around 20 active committee members that focus on four areas of interest – Social/Events, Publicity, Career/Education and Student Affairs. Each committee member is free to choose his or her area of interest but we generally organize programs and events as a whole (since we are still small and growing!).

You mentioned programs. What programs?
We are heavily involved in organizing events (even for the MPS as a whole) as well as reaching out to pharmacy students and other young pharmacists about their career prospects – basically their future! We also engage with the public by organizing health forums as well as participate in educating ourselves (such as first aid courses) and having fun! We also conduct yearly surveys to bring the issues that matter to young pharmacists to the MPS as well as senior pharmacists.

Where are you guys heading from here?
We have started planning the next two years with a Roadmap for 2012-2014. One of the cornerstones in the development of the YPC will be to participate wholly on the international arena, connecting with young pharmacists from all over the world. It is precisely for this reason that we intend to participate more in the YPG-FIP as well as the Asian YPG (just recently formed in November 2011).

This is all very interesting. Wait! Where’s Malaysia again?
Yeah – we get that a lot. Most of the time we just say that we are near Singapore. However, it is useful to know that Malaysia is, geographically, at least 475 times bigger than Singapore. We are located right in the heart of South East Asia between Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Any last words?
Simply put – participate in your local young pharmacist group today. Your voice matters and the louder it is, the more you can affect your future!

To find out more, please visit our website www.youngmps.org

In line with the Malaysian Government’s plan to create a ‘knowledge-based’ society, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS) is committed to make a quantum leap into research and student development activities. We will be holding our first ever Pharmaceutical Research Conference (PRC) for Pharmacy students and Young graduates on 18-19^th February 2012 at our main campus in Cyberjaya. The theme of the Conference is “Nurturing inquisitive minds through pharmaceutical research”. Presentation of research topics are in the following areas:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacy
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Analysis
• Pharmacology & Toxicology
• Pharmaceutics
• Pharmacognosy & Phytochemistry
• Nuclear Pharmacy
• Pharmacy Education
• Social Pharmacy & Public Health

This conference is for you! Final Year Students, PRP’s and FRP’s that have completed their research as well as other students actively carrying out their research are encouraged to participate in this conference to  share their knowledge and foster interaction between pharmacy students, young graduates and young researchers.

A great and stimulating time is to be had. Come join your fellow researchers!

Looking forward to seeing you there.

“NURTURING THE PASSION TO CARE”

Kind regards,

Mariani Ahmad Nizaruddin R.Ph MMPS

Secretary, PRC 2012

Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS)

PRC Program Details – 5th Draft (updated 29.12.2011) (Click to download!)

PRC 1st announcement poster

We are please to announce that the MPS Council has officially co-opted the chairperson of the YPC to be a council member for the remainder of the MPS Council term (until early 2012). This decision is based on the MPS Council’s (under the guidance of Datuk Nancy Ho) genuine concern for the welfare and issues affecting young pharmacists. We hope that this decision (and responsibility granted by the MPC Council) will enable the MPS to engage young pharmacists better and that we can make the voice of young pharmacists matter! As such, please continue to post your ideas/concerns to our Facebook Page or e-mail us at questions@youngmps.org.

In a separate and equally exciting development, the MPS Council have instituted a Independent Community Pharmacy Task-force that will be headed by Mr. Gan Ber Zin. The YPC has also been invited to occupy a place in this task-force to better give feedback on the intentions & ideas of young pharmacists on the future of the profession – in particular for the future of community pharmacy in Malaysia. Please watch our website as we work to give an independent sub-domain for the task-force to serve as a platform of discussion.

Further proceedings and information of the council meeting will be made available by the MPS. Thanks!

All along the supply chain, pharmaceutical players are preparing for enforcement of the Competition Act next year

Will the price of medicines drop next year? Watch this space.

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Malaysia’s pharmaceutical sector was worth RM4.6 billion by the end of last year.

Some of the smaller players hope for a bigger slice of that pie when the Competition Act is enforced in January, while some of the bigger players hope they won’t have to go through “agents”.

They complain that there are anti-competitive practices along the pharmaceutical supply chain.  If the act is enforced fairly, they claim, customers should get a wider range of products at better prices.  And small and medium enterprises would be more willing to invest and expand their businesses.

The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) is working on guidelines which will be ready by  year-end.  The draft guidelines will be posted on www.mycc.gov.my for feedback and once the final version is published, businesses and groups will have to comply, says Shila Dorai Raj, MyCC chief executive officer.

The act bans two kinds of anti-competitive practices — anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position.

“The act will provide a level playing field for all, which will eventually benefit consumers,” says Datuk Nancy Ho, president of the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society (MPS), whose members are pharmacists in retail, hospitals, manufacturing and academia.

A common problem is “refusal to sell, denial of service”, according to Wong Sie Sing, president of the Malaysian Community Pharmacists Association (MCPA).  He says that one multinational manufacturer only sells the higher dose of a common fever and flu relief tablet to clinics, “although it is an over-the-counter product.  That is anti-competitive.”

Under the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984, he notes, sale of such products must be approved by the Drug Control Authority:  “Only the product licence holder can import the product from other countries and can control the market.”

MyCC chairman Tan Sri Siti Norma Yaakob says the MCPA can lodge a complaint, once the law is enforced, about any multinational or local pharmaceutical company “which has a dominant position, (and) refuses to supply goods or services to others, without reasonable commercial justification”.

On the licence holder issue, she adds, MyCC would have to undertake a study to know the “workings of the trade in the market and why such licence is being granted to a sole dealer”.

If the licence holder becomes dominant and abuses that position, it will be subject to the act, “provided it is not exempted or excluded from the application of the law”.

Health Action International Asia-Pacific also reports “predatory” acts.  “Some of the big buyers get their products at an extremely low price and sell to the public with only a small markup,” says Shila Kaur, its coordinator at Universiti Sains Malaysia’s School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

“The small pharmacies with sole ownership cannot compete.”

Another complaint is that suppliers give different prices to different customers.

“The biggest example is controlled medicines, for example, for hypertension, cholesterol-lowering and diabetes,” says a retail pharmacist with more than 10 years in the business.

“The difference in price could be between 10 and 40 per cent.  Generally, the clinics get the better prices.”

Enforcement of the act would encourage small and medium pharmacy chains like his to expand the number of outlets to between 20 and  30 per cent per year, he estimates.

However, for pharmaceutical manufacturers such as David Ho, it’s all about volume.

“We can offer the same price to everyone but obviously, people who buy in bulk expect a lower price,” says the managing director of Hovid Bhd, one of the leading local generic drug manufacturers.

As a World Trade Organisation member, Malaysia has to protect pharmaceutical patents for at least 20 years from the date the patent application was filed.  For such products, “If they are the only one with the patent they can set a very good price,” says Ho, who is also on the executive council of the Malaysian Organisation of Pharmaceutical Industries (local, foreign and joint-venture manufacturers).

But off-patent products are “duty free and competition is  intense,” he points out.  His company doesn’t need to change any of its practices before the act is enforced because “we are in a segment of the market which is  competitive and competing with the rest of the world.  Sixty per cent of our production is exported.”

The Pharmaceutical Association of Malaysia, which groups 42 local and multinational pharmaceutical companies, “hopes the government will continue its review of preferred locally manufactured drugs in its procurement process, regardless of price, for off-patent compounds”, says president Ewe Kheng Huat.  “This will further allow an open, efficient and competitive marketplace in Malaysia.”

Would more competition lower the cost of medicines? “All the big drug manufacturers have a presence in Malaysia because there is a market for their products,” says lawyer Anand Raj, who has clients in the pharmaceutical sector. More competition would be better for consumers, he argues.

“And prices would come down if suppliers could take the shortest route to the customers. When there are more levels in the supply chain — whether it is agents, distributors, clinics or hospitals — that tends to add complexity and costs.”

Enforcing the act will also help Malaysia compete for foreign direct investment not just in this sector but in all sectors of the economy, he adds.

Pharmacists also expect the price of branded products to drop, says  Wong.

“In Malaysia, we are paying 30 to 40 per cent more for patented products than in their country of origin — although other Third World countries pay a lot less.”

Read more: COMPETITION COUNTDOWN: Level playing field – Columnist – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/competition-countdown-level-playing-field-1.4678#ixzz1ddk7IUYq

In view of the recent 1+1 implementation, the Ministry of Health’s Pharmaceutical Services division has instituted an FAQ (available only in Bahasa Malaysia) on its website. Please visit the following link for more information.

http://www.pharmacy.gov.my/newsmaster.cfm?&menuid=132&action=view&retrieveid=297&lang=EN

I had a great experience in New York throughout the Student Exchange Program! After going through the interview, numerous changes of exchange site, application for financial support and late approval of visa, finally I made it there!

It was once-in-a-lifetime experience. The two participating universities were Long Island University (Brooklyn campus, New York) and State University of New York @ University at Buffalo. I spent three weeks at the former university and more than a week at the latter.

At State University of New York, I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to attach at different practice sites. One of them was the Buffalo General Hospital where I shadowed the primary care residents and also the cardiologists. It was interesting to see how important communication skills were in clinical settings as I observed how Dr. Comerford counselled his diabetic patients. I also had the opportunity to learn from the cardiologist and nine other medical residents when we discussed patients’ cases at the Cardiac ICU. I also visited an online pharmacy which was not available in Malaysia.

I was given a tour to different labs at the State University of New York. The lab may not be big but they were very well-equipped and maintained. I like the idea that everything can be made simpler with technology. Everyone knows that the United States has advanced technology and I was really glad to be able to see and experience it myself, e.g. how robot helps to speed up work at the pharmacy department in hospital. (Bottom right) Me at University of Buffalo.

Another highlight of the exchange was the BBQ party hosted by Professor Gayle Brazeau. We were invited over to her house where she hosted us for a night. It was good to experience the American culture by staying in an American house instead of the university residence. The preceptors also brought us to try different local delicacies. I could not describe how it felt to be so welcomed by the school.

(Large photo) BBQ party at Prof Brazeau's house with other exchange students. (Others) I made a number of new friends who were pharmacy students in the University at Buffalo. We went to Niagara Falls, Art Festival, Eternal Flame hiking and even far down for white water rafting. We had so much fun hanging out together. Thanks to the Student Exchange Officer– Emily who planned all the activities so well. Although it was only 10-day stay at Buffalo, but it was time well spent because I got to try many things that I never tried before, particularly the different cuisines in Buffalo.

Overall, it was such a memorable and wonderful trip. I had a great time learning, visiting places and traveling! On a serious note, the experience gave me so much insight and affirmed my belief that pharmacists are more than just dispensing medications. There are a lot more that we can do. I was particularly inspired by level of professionalism of the pharmacists in New York. I hope I can bring the practice in my country to such standards when I start working later.

Although I initially hesitated about going for the exchange, I realized I had made the right decision and I was really lucky to be placed in the New York of the United States! A special thanks to Long Island University and University at Buffalo for the precious experience. Thanks for the sweet memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life! =)

This is an opinion piece and therefore subjective by nature. The opinions expressed here are the opinions of the individual author and are not necessarily the views of the Young Pharmacist Chapter or the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society unless expressly described as such. The Chapter does not take responsibility for any errors or misleading statements.

The SEP 2011 / 2012 Application starts from 1st Nov 2011and will close on 31 Dec 2011. Apply now at http://sep.ipsf.org/
Any enquiries please feel free to contact Student Exchange Officer of MyPSA at mypsa.seo@gmail.com

MPS is proud to declare that its new building in Puchong to be officially open at 11:11:11 AM on the 11th of November 2011. What a momentous occasion! We hope that the new building will be used as a base to nurture a new generation of pharmacists, laying down the foundation of the future of the profession.

The YPC congratulates our parent for this historic milestone.

Follow the health talk sessions by renowned speakers as they discuss about T&CM practices and family health.

Do visit the TRACOMEX 2011 to discover new knowledge on T&CM practices, find great bargains and enjoy irresistible promotions. Best of all, ADMISSION is FREE!!!

Keep up the good work and see you in our next meeting!

Jack giving his acceptance speech after being announced the award winner.

Our website mirrored the rise of young pharmacist advocacy and our very own Young Pharmacist Chapter. The YPC was jump-started again last year at Pharmacy Night 2011 and it really has grown in leaps and bounds. We have really gone from strength to strength – organising AGMs, surveys, dinners, forums, talks… reaching out from students to the senior most leaders of our profession. We have gone from a disparate bunch into a group that actively discuss with one another about issues that matter to young pharmacists and the profession as a whole.

The YPC and this website is ultimately a platform for all young pharmacists to air your views and to get to know one another. It is a home for you to feel comfortable to air your views on the issues that matter the most to you. And I hope that this will be for years to come – for it is us, the young pharmacists that owns the future.

So, youngmps.org, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You are 1 today. To our contributors, readers… To my fellow young pharmacists, I have to say this to all of you – Thank you for your acceptance and support for our little project but most of all, thank you for giving us your trust that we be your voice! Remember, YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

Yours,
Jack, on behalf of the YPC…