Krzysztof Kopeć: The untapped potential of...

Today, no one doubts anymore that uninterrupted access to medicines is necessary for the functioning and defense of the country. Guaranteeing their supply determines a country's resilience to the entire spectrum of threats, such as terrorist attacks, hybrid attacks or armed aggression.

With a significant increase in demand, our drug stockpiles will last about three months. Therefore, measures to strengthen drug security are a must.

Incentives make sense

On April 1 this year, the so-called "list of Polish drugs" took effect, with patients paying less at pharmacies - 10% less if the drug was made in Poland and 15% less if it was made with Polish ingredients. This is expected to increase the market share of domestic drugs.

These incentives are rather symbolic, because due to the very low prices of domestic medicines, reductions in patients' co-payments mean savings for them counted in pennies.

However, these symbolic reductions show the direction we want to go. And it turns out that incentives are a good way to go, as the French company Servier has announced that it will move the production of all its reimbursable drugs in Poland to our country due to these regulations.

But incentives need to be expanded and domestic drugs - like those for seniors - should be free for patients. Indeed, the number of reimbursed drugs fully manufactured in Poland is negligible. Of the 3846 on the reimbursement list, about 500 are produced in Poland, but only 34 are fully manufactured domestically (active substance and finished product).

List of critical drugs

In 2024, a Polish list of critical medicines was established. However, the list alone will not ensure our safety. It is information on which drugs we should produce in Poland. However, a manufacturer, in order to invest in a risky and basically uncompetitive production against Asian manufacturers, must have a guarantee that the government will not thank him for his product, because he will be able to buy it cheaper in Asia. It also needs support in the form of grants for capital expenditures, i.e. factories, machinery, production lines for these drugs. Determining their prices and sales levels should be done at the investment design stage.

Besides, without the Polish list of critical medicines, we would have no influence on the shape of the European one. And at the EU level, work is well advanced on the "Critical Medicines Act," which will include mechanisms for financial support for the production of critical medicines and their components in Europe.

First, do no harm

Problems arising from the flawed provisions of the amended Reimbursement Law coming into force in 2024 have fortunately been addressed on an ongoing basis, and changes to these regulations are expected to be included in the next amendment, on which work in the Parliament will begin next year. The Reimbursement Law contains harmful and unclear solutions, including a flawed formula for determining drug supply volumes. The Health Ministry has promised to amend these provisions. It also wants to make biological drugs, currently prescribed only in hospitals, available in clinics closer to the patient's home.

Still untapped potential

The macroeconomic impact of the domestic pharmaceutical industry on the Polish economy is more than PLN 20 billion. This is as much as we spend from the state budget on the police and fire departments, or as much as the National Health Service spends on reimbursing all medicines, including the most expensive ones in drug programs. The industry generates 81,200 jobs, and wages in the sector are 46% higher than the average in industry. Payments from taxes and other tributes to the state budget, amounting to more than PLN 4 billion, are sufficient to cover reimbursement of domestic drugs amounting to PLN 3 billion.

However, we could have produced more. Unfortunately, the government has foregone more than 600 million zlotys from the National Reconstruction Plan, which were to be used to support the production of active substances and critical medicines. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new, comprehensive support mechanism. Especially since other EU countries are already actively supporting the pharmaceutical industry at home. Poland cannot be left behind. Funds from EU programs like FENG - should be allocated to projects that will result in an increase in drug production in Poland.

Source: National Drug Manufacturers