Greek pharmaceuticals on the verge of extinction

Pursuant to Article 168 TFEU on public health, the European Parliament and the Council have adopted measures to specify high quality and safety standards for medicinal products and equipment intended for medical purposes.

By imposing a third MoU on Greece, the troika intends to deal a critical blow to one of the last pillars that could bring about economic recovery, i.e. the pharmaceutical industry.

By its intervention, the troika requires a new pricing system to be used for medicinal products, aiming to make domestic production unprofitable, thus eliminating the Greek pharmaceutical industry.

If the Greek pharmaceutical industry is affected, the persons employed by that industry will be added to the multitudes of Greek unemployed people and the millions of Greek poor people. Moreover, Greek medicinal products will be replaced by more expensive imported ones, whose quality is, in several instances, questionable. And expensive imported medicinal products will become some sort of luxury for impoverished people.

In view of the above, I would like to ask the Commission as a member of the troika: will the Commission continue to insist on its failed MoU policy, thus damaging the Greek pharmaceutical industry?

Source: European Parliament

Answer given by Mr Moscovici on behalf of the Commission

The Commission supports the intention of the Greek Ministry of Health to enhance the cost-efficiency and effectiveness of the Greek National Health System as well as the quality and accessibility of public healthcare in order to fully meet the health needs of the population but also to ensure sustainability.

As stated in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed by Greece and the Commission acting on behalf of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the Greek authorities have committed to continue reforming the healthcare sector in order to control public expenditure, manage prices of pharmaceuticals, improve hospital management, increase centralized procurement of hospital supplies, manage demand for pharmaceuticals and healthcare through evidence-based e-prescription protocols, commission private sector healthcare providers in a cost effective manner, modernize IT systems and develop a new electronic referral system for primary and secondary care that allows to formulate care pathways for patients(1).

Despite a significant decrease since 2010, thanks in part to the introduction of new regulation as part of the commitments undertaken under the previous financial support programmes, prices of Greek generic medicines are still relatively high in comparison to other EU Member States(2) . The new commitment of the Greek Government is to correct this anomaly in prices and contribute to reduce the use of the claw-back mechanism. Lower prices will benefit patients both directly, through lower participation to treatment costs, and indirectly, unlocking budget resources to finance an increase in the introduction of innovative drugs.
(1) http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/assistance_eu_ms/greek_loan_facility/pdf/01_mou_20150811_en.pdf p. 15.
(2) Yfantopoulos J. Pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement reforms in Greece. European Journal of Health Economics 2008;9:87‐97.