The manufacturers of generic drugs and the main pharmacists unions announced their decision to boycott the discussions in the Ministry of Health, in response to requests for price reductions of certain molecules.
In a context of growing shortage of medicines, the players in the sector will refuse to sit on Thursday in the generic monitoring committee organized by the Economic Committee for Health Products (CEPS), they indicated at a press conference this Wednesday.
It is, according to them, a letter from CEPS, the inter-ministerial body that sets the prices of medicines reimbursed by Social Security, informing them of their intention to lower the prices of 7 molecules, including 4 medicines of great therapeutic interest, for a total amount of more than 67 million euros.
effects of inflation
These price reductions should particularly affect metformin, an anti-diabetic drug that currently sells for €1.27 a box, which should drop to €1.11 a box.
“This is the first time that we collectively boycott” this meeting, said Stéphane Joly, president of Gemme, the French association of generic manufacturers, denouncing an “intolerable” situation.
Generic producers have been fighting for several months against the “escape clause”, a tax mechanism that affects both expensive innovative drugs and those that sell for a few cents.
They also sounded the alarm about the effects of inflation. In this context, they ask the public authorities for a moratorium on price reductions.
“It’s time we all take responsibility”
But also “targeted increases, as has been done in Germany and Portugal with drugs of great therapeutic interest,” said Jérôme Wirotius, general director of the generic manufacturer Biogaran, vice president of Gem.
The main unions of pharmacists, who have also indicated that they will not attend the CEPS meeting, have also announced the launch of a campaign in pharmacies to inform patients.
“It is time for each one to assume their responsibilities (…) From the moment the products are in tension, it is not surprising to see the producers who go mainly to the countries where they are offered a decent price for their products”, hammered Laurent Filoche, president of the Community Pharmacists Union, during the press conference.
Source: BFM TV
