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Healthcare: 1,332 medicines disappeared between 2011-2014, 534 in the last 14 months alone
The use of generic medicines is dropping in Romania. 1,332 medicines disappeared between 2011-2014, of which 534 in the last 14 months, said the president of APMGR, Dagos Damian at the conference “International Health Forum 2015” on Tuesday.
The president of APMGR said that the pharmaceutical industry in Romania missed investments of 50 million euros and had to fire personnel in certain areas, like that of generic medicines where there is no profit.
“The important thing is that Romania has exports, and is one of the biggest exporters in Eastern Europe. Medicines from Romania go to countries like Brazil and the US, as well as in EU,”Damian said at the conference organized by APMGR with the support of the Association of Generic and Biosimilar Medicines. He pointed out that problems in the domestic market are seen with exports too.
He added that the increase of medicine factories in Romania is encouraged but the use of generic medicines is dropping.
Damian also spoke about development barriers, considering that the first one is placed by fiscal policies, followed by the fact that in Romania there are the lowest prices in Europe for medicines.
“For medicines under 30 lei, there is no profit. The clawback tax goes directly to the manufacturer’s profit. This tax grew from 15 to 25% and that is the reason why we cannot stabilize operations,”Damian said.
The APMGR president said that over July 2014 - June 2015 official data showed that generic medicine producers paid 500 million lei for the clawback tax, but 200 million lei were in fact calculus errors.
“Over 40% of what we paid it shouldn’t have been paid. It is criticism based on concrete figures,” the president showed.
Dragos Damian spoke about the price policy which seems to be a barrier for medicines, and showed that 600 medicines in the market cost as much as a bottle of water.
The topics discussed at the conference organized by APMGR include: the reform of the health care system in Romania based on success models, implemented in other EU states; ensuring broader access to medical treatments for patients by elaborating sustainable strategies in the field of health care. “The European semester”and the impact of recommendations for Romania on health and innovation policies; the generic medicine industry: strategic sector for Romania’s economy.