“The pharmaceutical industry is not a cash cow. The clawback tax is a general method that will not offer long-term results. The system needs targeted measures,” said Danko, research leader at the Management Institute of Corvinus University in Budapest.
Danko also said he does not recommend the Hungarian system in that respect, which is a bad example.
The increase of the clawback tax is the most simple measure to adopt for the governments of European countries but it does not solve a problem, especially when frequently amending the tax, Danko added.
He warned the Romanian Government not to take as role models countries from abroad, especially Hungary or Italy, stressing that in Greece, the clawback tax has reached 30%, while in Hungary it “was introduced as a temporary measure six years ago and there are few chances to be eliminated.(…) The tax currently sets at 20% (e.n. in Hungary) but it will most probably reach 30% by yearend,” Danko added.
On the other hand, Robert Popescu, general manager with A&D Pharma, the largest company in the local drug industry, told the summit that many pharmacies would disappear from the market should the clawback tax be enforced.
“It is rather hard to impose someone such a tax as long as a pharmacy operator has a 2% operating margin,” he said.
The Government approved in August a new formula for the clawback tax, which will be reduced by 10% and charged starting on October 1, as well as a mechanism to adjust the healthcare system’s arrears and ensure that hospitals stock drugs efficiently.
The Association of Romanian Producers of Generic Drugs (APMGR) rejected the new clawback tax approved by the Government, arguing that authorities continue to ignore the propositions made by drug producers and returned to a harshly criticized unfair formula.
Generic drug producers have repeatedly demanded a lower clawback tax, warning that hundreds of products might be pulled from the market.