“The generic drug industry may help reduce costs in the public healthcare sector and make treatment more accessible to patients. Many European states with sustainable healthcare systems have already adopted real measures to encourage the use of medical drugs, with good results for both patients and the budget,” , Dragos Damian, president of the Association of Generic Drug Producers in Romania, or APMGR, said Thursday at the International Health Forum.
APMGR proposes that the price of generic drugs no longer be computed considering the price of brand-name medicines.
“The price of a generic drug is 65% of the price of its brand-name version. If the latter’s price falls, the price of the generic drug must also be reduced, sometimes to a level that makes its production impossible,” Damian explained.
The Romanian pharmaceutical industry includes over 20 medicine production facilities, which manufacture 1,500 types of generic drugs. They generate annual sales of EUR650 million locally, while exports contribute about EUR200 million.
According to APMGR, local generic drug producers invested EUR1.5 billion in Romania between 2006 and 2011.