The Ministry of Health is already preparing the reform of the Medicines Law. Far from the two known Royal Decrees (the evaluation and the financing of drugs), the preliminary draft to which this newspaper has had access is far from satisfying the demands of the pharmaceutical industry and, with them, providing legal fit for the recently approved national strategy of the sector.
One of the new features of the document is the recovery of medicine auctions, although they come under a different name: selected prices. According to the articles prepared by the Government, when the reform of the law is approved, a system of selected prices will be born that will consist of a battle to lower the price of unpatented molecules to keep the entire Spanish market. In this war, there will be a winner who, after demonstrating that he has supply capacity, will take 50% of the business that Spain offers. Behind them, two more operators will be selected who will share the rest. The price battle will be repeated every two months.
According to sources consulted, “this continuous auction system directly impacts patients, prescribers and pharmaceutical companies in our country.” The reasons are obvious. On the one hand, there will be very frequent changes in medication for patients, making adherence to treatments difficult, especially in the polymedicated population, which is usually the oldest. On the other hand, it could introduce avoidable co-payment, forcing patients who are being treated with a medication other than the one selected for its lowest price to pay the difference in price with the medication prescribed by the doctor, therefore affecting populations vulnerable.
But in addition, this new policy directly attacks the spirit of Spain’s Pharmaceutical Strategy. This plan, approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, sought, among other things, to attract the manufacturing of medicines to Spain. The problem is that to lower the price (and just look at the experience in Andalusia a decade ago) you need to have low costs, so the actors that will participate will be companies from Southeast Asia, for the most part. “It will generate a new scenario of economic instability and uncertainty for companies, with the consequent negative impact on investment and growth decisions in Spain and will promote parallel exports, causing supply problems,” say the sources consulted.
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