Pharmacies: patients will pay less for Polish drugs

Reductions in patients' co-payments for Polish drugs is one of the mechanisms included in the amendment to the Drug Reimbursement Law, which is intended to build Poland's drug security and encourage an increase in pharmaceutical production in our country. Currently, the share of domestic drugs accounts for 35% of the value of the reimbursed drug market, while by sales volume it is 48%.

Building system resilience

Experience from the Covid-19 pandemic has proven that the more drugs produced domestically, the lower the risk of shortages during emergencies. After all, one of the reasons for pharmaceutical shortages in the EU is dependence on supplies from outside Europe. Meanwhile, the transport of pharmaceuticals from another continent can be stopped not only by a pandemic, but also by geopolitical conflicts, natural disasters or even the failure of a transport ship. In view of the experience of pandemics, the war in Ukraine, the tense geopolitical situation - national security must also take into account the state's ability to ensure access to medicines in emergency situations. 

EU countries invest in their own pharmaceutical sector 

Currently, Europe is unable to provide its own medicines in a crisis situation, because it imports the basic substances for their production from Asia. That's why member countries are supporting the development of pharmaceutical production on their territory.

The German government has launched a package of economic incentives and a special budget to promote domestic production of pharmaceuticals, active substances, vaccines. In France, the EUROAPI project has been launched to make Europe independent of the supply of pharmaceutical active substances from other regions of the world, mainly Asia. Manufacturing is to take place at 6 European sites: in Italy, Germany, the UK, France and Hungary. The Italians have also subsidized their manufacturing cluster in the form of a grant. A good example of a public-private partnership is Austria. Novartis Group and Sandoz are investing with the Austrian government to improve the production of antibiotics, which will be manufactured in the Austrian municipality of Kundl. The Czech Republic, too, is providing direct grants for the production of drug ingredients.

First incentives to increase production in reimbursement law 

In Poland, the first preferences for manufacturers in Poland to encourage investment in drug production appeared in an amendment to the reimbursement law. -We welcome the announcement by Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna. Lower patient co-payments for Polish medicines is not only a lower expense at the pharmacy, but also the first step towards increasing the production of medicines in Poland, thus guaranteeing their supply in emergency situations. Therefore, we hope that health ministry officials will succeed in including all Polish drugs in the reimbursement list," says Krzysztof Kopeć, president of the National Drug Manufacturers. - We believe that the government should also prepare a list of critical medicines that, for the safety of Poles, must be produced in our country and talk to domestic companies about the possibility of producing them. There should also be further effective incentives for drug manufacturing in Poland. When spending Poles' money from health premiums, preference must be given to drugs produced by domestic manufacturers, and preferences must be offered to those who choose to invest in production here. The domestic pharmaceutical industry is an untapped potential, and we should do everything we can to ensure that at least 70% of reimbursable drugs are manufactured in our country. Because this will guarantee our security in these unstable times," he adds.

Source: PZPPF