German rebates to cost pharma 1 billion euro
pharmafile | November 1, 2010 | News story | Sales and Marketing | BPI, German pharma market, Germany, Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung, healthcare costs
The pharma industry will contribute over 1 billion euro ($1.4 billion) to Germany’s cost-containment efforts by the end of 2010.
Pharma firms operating in Germany have already paid 700 million euros in mandatory rebate contracts in the first nine months of 2010, and this is set to pass 1 billion euros by the end of the year according to the BPI.
The German industry body said the rebates would “heavily weigh on the profitability of the pharma industry”, especially on the small and medium-sized (SME) companies that are responsible for more than 70% of the market.
SMEs are more susceptible to cost-containment measures as they rely on single blockbusters and have a limited pipeline, making them unable to recoup the losses made by price cuts.
The German coalition government is hoping a 16% increase in the mandatory rebate on non-reference priced drugs along with a three-year freeze on pharma prices in the country will help it claw back around 2 billion euro each year from health costs.
In addition, from January 2011 drugmakers of new medicines will be required to enter into price negotiations with the statutory health insurance system, the Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung (GKV), meaning that prices will most likely be cut and uptake slower.
The BPI has also released data on the top-selling drugs in the GKV market in 2009, showing human insulin products grew by just over 1% to top its charts, followed by antipsychotics (up 17%) and anti-TNF therapies (up by nearly a quarter). All three therapy areas achieved sales last year of over 1 billion euro.
Ben Adams
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