(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – Rome, 08 June – In Italy, Scaccabarozzi underlined, public pharmaceutical expenditure is 26% lower than other major European countries. The resources allocated to pharmaceuticals are equal to 15.7% of the National Health Fund and from 2006 to 2011 the effective public pharmaceutical expenditure grew overall by 2%, compared to the +18% of the other goods and services purchased by the NHS. "In the last five years, national measures dictated by public finance needs have led to costs for drug companies equal to 11 billion", said the president of Farmindustria. The July 2011 maneuver, recalled Farmindustria, envisaged a cut of between 800 million and 1 billion in pharmaceutical spending as part of a 2.5 billion cut in overall health spending. In the AIFA proposal, the territorial pharmaceutical spending ceiling is reduced from 13.3% to 12.1%; on the other hand, the ceiling for hospital pharmaceuticals increases from 2.4% to 3.6%. The proposal, "although imposing very heavy burdens", according to Farmindustria "could be accepted provided it is accompanied by a set of certain and credible rules for the management of expenditure and access to innovation in line with the conditions of the main EU countries". Among the requests is the non-increase in VAT on medicines and the overcoming of the pay-back (cash shelf of the value of the medicines) of 1.83% (about 3% of the industry's revenue).
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(RADIOCOR) 08-06-12 14:44:43 (0206) 5 NNNN 
