August 27, 2012
"Equivalents, a turning point. If the doctors cooperate."
Our interview with Giorgio Foresti.
Approved last July 31 in the Senate, in force since August 15th, the spending review includes, among the various points aimed at reducing public spending, also important directives on the prescription of generic equivalent drugs. The new prescriptions oblige doctors to no longer indicate the trade name of the prescribed medicine, but the active ingredient it contains. The standard immediately caused discussion, raising appreciations and criticisms. To clarify and better understand the state of 'health' of the equivalent drug in Italy, we interviewed Dr. Giorgio Foresti, president of Assogenerici (National Association of Generic Drugs Industries).
Doctor Foresti, there is a lot of talk about the new law, the newspapers report very different statements and opinions. What's the state of things?
The novelty only concerns reimbursable drugs with savings to the full advantage of the State and citizens; there is some confusion about this, but that doesn't surprise me. Just as I am not surprised by the statements conveyed by some media regarding the alleged "backtracking" of the Government, an aboutturn that has absolutely not taken place. The provision passed as it should, setting July 31 as an epochal day for Italy: the monopoly of branded drugs has ended and with the spending review it finally opens up to generic equivalents, as is already happening in the rest of the Euro
