Reports

On 25 June 2010 Merck Sharp & Dohme-Chibret (MSD-Chibret) signed an agreement with subcontractor Fareva under an incentive set up by the strategic council of health industries (Csis) meeting, aimed at keeping pharmaceutical production in France.

On 23 June 2010, the Italian Health Minister, Mr Ferruccio Fazio, announced that Italy has decided to scrap its plans to introduce a new tendering system for reimbursable off-patent medicines in favour of measures to boost generic volumes.

A new report from Espicom’s Senior Market Analyst, Mrs Karen Holmes, discusses emerging opportunities for inhalation and nasal spray drugs. It reviews currently available generic products and assesses the prospects for originator drugs losing patent protection over the next 10 years.

Ensuring the sustainability of the generic medicines industry is one of the key elements in maintaining broad access to medicines for all. To meet increasing demand from more patients who are living longer and expecting an improved quality of life, generic medicines offer quality treatment at affordable prices.

There are many challenges that may limit the competitiveness and sustainability of the European generics sector. Costs and pricing, especially in light of recent cost-cutting exercises in many European countries, is seen as one of the most important. However, limitations on pre-empting patent expiry, increasingly stringent regulations and the effect of tendering also have an impact.

The role of generic medicines has been to provide essential medicines that are both high quality and affordable throughout the EU. They have enabled increased access to medicines for patients and provided significant savings for EU healthcare systems.

The ageing population and lifestyle changes bring an increased burden on health care and consequently an increase in costs. This growing cost of health care is unavoidable, and drug expenditure is forecast to increase by around 5% annually over the next 3–5 years. Increased use of generics could, however, help to offset some of this increase.

The Sustaining Generic Medicines Markets in Europe report (April 2006), produced by the Research Centre for Pharmaceutical Care and Pharmaco-economics and authored by Professor Steven Simoens and Mr Sandra De Coster, offers a country-by-country analysis of generics markets in Europe and discusses factors both hindering and aiding the development of generics markets.

The Sustaining Generic Medicines Markets in Europe report (April 2006), produced by the Research Centre for Pharmaceutical Care and Pharmaco-economics and authored by Professor Steven Simoens and Ms Sandra De Coster, offers a country-by-country analysis of generics markets in Europe and discusses factors both hindering and aiding the development of generics markets.

The Sustaining Generic Medicines Markets in Europe report (April 2006), produced by the Research Centre for Pharmaceutical Care and Pharmaco-economics and authored by Professor Steven Simoens and Ms Sandra De Coster, offers a country-by-country analysis of generics markets in Europe and discusses factors both hindering and aiding the development of generics markets.