THE Department of Health (DOH) said it has procured about 1.2 million bottles of antiretroviral drugs for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment.
This comes after a reported shortage of Tenofovir/Lamivudine/Dolutegravir (TLD), the recommended first-line antiretroviral regimen for HIV therapy.
The nonprofit organization LoveYourself Philippines announced earlier that its antiretroviral refills will be reduced to a two-week supply starting Thursday, July 2, citing delay in the replenishment of stocks.
The DOH said that the procurement was awarded to PhilPharmawealth, a pharmaceutical importation and distribution company, back in March.
The first tranche of 600,000 bottles, it said, was due for delivery on May 23, 2026.
Citing the Middle East war, the DOH said the supplier requested an extension of the delivery deadline for 455,217 bottles on July 5.
It said the 1,164,879 bottles procured are enough to provide first-line HIV treatment for an estimated 97,000 people living with HIV nationwide.
“The DOH continues to closely monitor the supplier’s compliance. We will take all necessary actions to protect public health and safeguard the uninterrupted availability of life-saving HIV medicines,” it said.