CoEUP Episode 5 - Preventing shortages in Europe through resilient medicines policies

This episodes will give to the viewers an insight into the world of off-patent medicines. A world in which we find ourselves in a time that presents or has recently presented us with greater challenges than ever before. Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, unprecedented inflation, aging population, increased chronic disease burden and the higher cost of innovative treatments have put immense pressure on healthcare budgets across Europe. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg. To understand the root causes we need to dig a little deeper. Strict pricing rules for generic medicines irrespective of prevailing market conditions and procurement practices solely aiming at obtaining the lowest price for multi-source medicines have been the prime driver of market and industrial consolidation. The substantial consolidation of buying power, allied to the short-term gains of lower prices, has reduced competition and increased the risk of medicine shortages due to the lack of supply diversity. Not only regulatory efficiency measures are critical to reduce pressure on the off-patent sector, but also the implementation of sustainable policies, the lowering of cost containment measures or the adoption of new pricing models to ensure a healthy, competitive, resilient and diversified generic supply. In today's episode, we take a closer look at the origins of this knotty situation in order to better understand its drivers, identify possible solutions and understand what new opportunities the new European Pharmaceutical legislation may offer.

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