The scenario of the pharmaceutical sector
Document shared between Farmindustria and the Trade Union Organizations - Trade Union Document
PremiseThe drug companies operating in Italy produce wealth and employment for the country system, with investments in high-tech plants, large and qualified industrial satellites, growing propensity for Research and Development, numerous projects in the international development phase and a remarkable ability to compete on foreign markets, evidenced by the positive foreign balance of medicines and by the high level of exports, which represents over 50% of production.
It is therefore necessary that the industrial sector and its contribution to the Italian economy be recognized at all levels, in this sense the drug cannot be conceived only as an element of expenditure, but above all as an investment for the country, for the health of citizens and the revival of industrial growth.
Pharmaceutical companies must be seen as one of the catalysing factors of the economy and of scientific knowledge, with a positive role for the efficiency of the National Health Service, the development and the ability to generate employment of a high quality level in line with the strategy of Lisbon.
For this there is a need for a regulatory and institutional framework that is stable and conducive to enhancing the peculiarities of the sector.
Elements for a development policy of the pharmaceutical industryFarmindustria and the trade union organizations of the sector share the analysis of a strong change at an international level, with present and future implications also in Italy.
The growing demand for Health, the competitive pressure from the Emerging Economies, the increasingly high costs for the development of a drug, the changes in the Production and Research models which lead to greater specialization among the various players, the expiry of numerous patents force companies to look for new strategies and new development prospects to relaunch their competitive capacity.
On the other hand, they also require national and local political decision makers to create the most suitable context conditions for consolidating existing investments in the area and for attracting others, with consequent positive effects on employment levels and with a work of contrast the shift of production activities to other countries.
This is why Farmindustria and the Trade Union Organizations agree on the need for an industrial policy for the sector, respectful of responsible spending management, but attentive to development needs, in particular with interventions that stimulate Research and Innovation and the management of production processes.
To this end, they believe that the pursuit of a stable regulatory framework, with certainty of the rules, and which aims to rebalance the competitive conditions of the sector, after the repeated interventions on prices in past years, cannot be postponed.
The national government and the regional institutions, with the significant contribution of the parties, will therefore have to favor legislation in support of competitiveness and the ability to attract foreign investments in the country. Stimulating Research and Hopes
