Health made affordable, inclusive as a commitment

A medicine may begin its journey thousands of kilometers from the Philippines, but for Monaliza Salian, what matters is where that journey ends: in the hands of a Filipino patient who needs it.

The pharmacist-turned-entrepreneur has spent years navigating the intricate path between overseas manufacturers, regulators, customs and the local market, all with an objective rooted in the oath she took when she entered the profession.

“When I got my license, there’s a solemn oath, which is that our lives as a pharmacist are dedicated to public health and patient care,” Salian said during an interview on DAILY TRIBUNE’s Straight Talk.

Salian, co-founder, president and CEO of I.E. Medica Inc. and MedEthix Incorporated, has built her career around navigating pharmaceutical regulations, sourcing medicines and bringing them to the Philippine market.

For her, access to medicines, particularly for patients and communities with limited options, remains part of the larger business objective.

Global supply network

Salian’s experience in regulatory pharmacy exposed her early on to India-based pharmaceutical manufacturers and the complex process of complying with requirements before medicines can reach patients.

India eventually became the backbone of the group’s pharmaceutical supply chain, accounting for about 75 percent of its sourcing.

‘There are goods that we need to release as soon as they arrive, like those anti-cancer drugs. We cannot keep them in customs for so long.’

“We started with Indian suppliers, my husband being an Indian, but then we are now having our global reach as well across the world,” she recalled.

The group now works with around 84 suppliers in India while also sourcing pharmaceutical products from South Korea, Australia, Europe and Russia.

For Salian, choosing partners is not merely about their size or ability to manufacture at scale.

Regulatory compliance and reliability are equally important, particularly when products must satisfy requirements before they can be registered and marketed in the Philippines.

This global network also allows the group to look beyond medicines already widely available in the local market.

Salian said a dedicated team studies disease prevalence and identifies areas where treatment options may be limited. This includes looking at the needs of patients with rare diseases and exploring medicines that may already be available overseas.

“We try to source those products and make them readily available here, register them with the FDA, and have them available [and] offered to the Filipino patients,” explained the entrepreneur.

In some cases, Salian said her husband also works with manufacturing partners overseas to explore formulations based on identified medical needs in the Philippines.

The process reflects a central challenge in pharmaceutical access: Finding a medicine is only the beginning. It must also meet regulatory requirements and successfully move through the supply chain before it can reach the patient who needs it.

Access must be sustainable, too

Providing medicines while maintaining a viable pharmaceutical business also requires balancing affordability and profitability.

Salian said a significant part of their portfolio is weighted toward lower-margin products, with volume helping sustain that side of the business.

“Our portfolio is mainly overweighted into lower-margin ones, but then it doesn’t limit us there,” Salian stated.

The group also operates branded, or “ethical,” pharmaceutical lines that offer better margins, allowing its business units to support one another.

MedEthix, for instance, has developed business units covering reproductive medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and urology.

Its philosophy is reflected in a company tagline Salian echoed during the interview: “To heal always and in all ways.”

For her, the portfolio also reflects the idea of supporting patients through different stages of family life, from couples experiencing difficulty conceiving to pregnancy, childbirth and pediatric care.

“We try to build the entire ethical marketing of MedEthix. We build — the main goal is to build community,” she said.

Despite the need to keep the businesses commercially viable, Salian said profitability does not sit at the top of their priorities.

“We focus on people; we try to look for product, the second one, and I guess profitability will just be the last one for us to consider,” she underscored.

“Of course, we need profitability at the end of the day because we have to operate the company, but then in the hierarchy of prioritizing it, it’s the people that we really — it’s the main focus for the company’s objective.”

Meds moving faster

Access, however, does not depend on pharmaceutical companies alone.

Imported medicines still have to pass through regulatory and Customs processes, where delays can become particularly critical for products patients urgently need.

Salian cited anti-cancer medicines as an example of pharmaceutical products for which lengthy delays in Customs clearance could have consequences down the supply chain.

“There are goods that we need to release as soon as they arrive, like those anti-cancer drugs. We cannot keep them in customs for so long,” she said.

“It has to be immediately facilitated for release.”

Salian said their company was among representatives from different industries tapped for the Bureau of Customs’ Top Importers Office initiative, which seeks closer coordination between major importers and Customs officials to improve the ease of doing business.

She described the proposed system as potentially functioning like a “fast lane” and giving participating importers a focal office to address concerns about the release of goods.

Salian stressed, however, that policies governing the initiative were still being finalized.

The same focus on access extends outside the companies through the Salian Foundation, the family’s philanthropic arm focused largely on education and health.

Salian said about two percent of business income is generally allotted to the foundation, although the family does not impose a fixed ceiling when emergencies require additional assistance.

“Approximately, we’re giving around — we’re allotting around two percent there, but for us, there’s no ceiling. We don’t cap such thing,” she said.

The foundation conducts feeding programs, scholarships, medical missions and emergency assistance, including aid for communities affected by typhoons and earthquakes.

It supports about 2,200 children, including 480 scholars, according to Salian.

Healthcare remains a regular part of its work. The foundation has conducted annual medical missions and, more recently, has assisted elderly patients needing cataract surgery.

But education is taking greater prominence in its current activities.

Salian, a proud Capizeña, said the foundation has been gathering resources for an initiative involving as many as 475 Department of Education schools in Capiz, with plans to provide supplies such as hygiene kits and vitamins.

“You identify the most deprived ones. I mean, those that are the least that the people could visit or the people could give some assistance,” Salian recalled telling her colleague.

The approach mirrors the philosophy she describes in the pharmaceutical business: identify where access remains difficult, then find a way to close the gap.

For Salian, there is still much ground to cover. Despite the group’s growing network of overseas partners, communities in the Philippines still face barriers to accessing medical care and essential medicines.

And while medicines may travel thousands of kilometers to reach the Philippines, Salian believes their journey only matters when they finally reach the Filipino patients who need them most.