Spain to cut prescription drug prices
pharmafile | May 19, 2010 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Spain, industry, prices
The Spanish government will cut the prices of patented prescription drugs from 1 August in a bid to save 1.3 billion euros.
The measure to curb health spending is part of Spain’s overall economic policy to tackle its growing deficit problem.
The country’s national drugs bill reached 12.5 billion euros in 2009 and the measures aim to reduce this by nearly a quarter.
It will follow Greece’s recent introduction of drastic measures to cut the so-called ‘toxic debt’ mounting in that country.
Chairman of Spanish industry body Farmaindustria Jesus Acebillo said Spain’s cuts would have dramatic consequences for the country’s pharmaceutical industry.
“The turnover of pharmaceutical companies operating in Spain will be reduced by 20%, and you will lose about 20,000 jobs, 5,000 of them directly.
“In addition, Spain will generate a cascade effect of the relocation of companies not only here [in Spain] but also across Europe,” he said.
Cutting the prices of patented drugs will account for one billion euros worth of savings, with a further 300 million euros coming through changes to the production and dispensing of single-dose treatments. Drugs that are included in the reference pricing system will not be affected.
Abbott Spain’s president Stephen Silver told Spanish journal Five-day: “These kind of price cuts erode the country’s credibility as a mature and predictable market.
“In its basic parameters, the Spanish national health system is admirable, the most efficient with the largest portfolio of services offered; combined with the coverage Spain has, this is extraordinary, but the mismatch between budget and expenditure is well known.”
Ben Adams
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