Farmindustria cannot hide its surprise at the declarations of Rita Battaglia of Filcem-Cgil, who claims to be in favor of the cuts, despite several meetings in which the difficulties of the companies were clearly represented even to the Union itself. Moreover, a position based on the data for the first six months of the year, tainted, in comparison, by particular and in any case now obsolete phenomena, which do not help understanding the problem and, on the contrary, confuse the data disclosed by Aifa (Italian Medicines Agency) in fact show the clear reversal of the trend of the approved pharmaceutical expenditure which is already in "negative territory" (-0.5% in September). Farmindustria's criticisms concern both the provisions of July and September, which cut the prices of 10% - with peaks up to 20% - and the Budget, which made these measures structural also for the years to come. Today the prices of medicines in Italy, already lower by 20% than the European average in the first half of the year, are even reaching peaks of 40% less. This, obviously, with higher costs than in other European countries, think of energy or taxation. Ultimately it will be necessary to improve the cost structure of companies in Italy, with clear impacts also on employment, not because companies are less efficient (in fact they know how to compete abroad), but due to the conditions in which they are forced to operate. In such a hostile and negative climate, the decisions of some companies to redirect their investments elsewhere are absolutely understandable.
From Farmindustria 11/11/2006
