The main difference compared to the recent past does not lie in the "recipe" to be adopted to deal with change, but in the ineluctability of implementing it. It is in fact time for more radical evaluations and decisions. Starting from innovation but with "all-round" attention to the patient's needs
24 JUN – About 26 billion euros are spent a year on drugs in Italy, of which about 17 are financed by the National Health System (Farmindustria 2011). A significant figure, equal to 1.6% of our GDP, but which compared to some of the main European countries does not appear excessive: Germany, Spain and France spend more than us both in terms of incidence on GDP and per capita (Eurostat, OECD Health Date 2012, Commission services DG ECFIN).
In a constantly evolving regulatory context, a rule included in the 2012 Spending Review deserves particular attention. This is the provision relating to the obligation to include the name of the molecule in the prescription for some categories of drugs (those included in Class A, with the exception of existing chronic therapies) for which a generic is available.
The measure caused a lot of uproar among the insiders. The reason for so much attention must be sought, in our view, in the fact that unlike many other previous measures, this one has an impact on the structure of the industry and on competitive dynamics, encouraging on the one hand the use of generics (which Italy is among the lowest in Europe) and on the other reducing the influence of doctors on the patient's choice between brand and generic. The results observed to date show an increase in the incidence of generic drugs on volumes sold from 14% in 2011 to 17% in 2013 (in 2008 we were below 10%, Assogenerici, AdnKronos).
How to deal with change?
On the basis of our experiences, we believe that the main difference compared to the recent past is not in the "recipe" to be adopted to deal with change, but in the inevitability of implementing it: in fact, it is time for more radical evaluations and decisions, in particular for the companies most exposed to the trends described. To date, however, those actions have often remained only minimally implemented statements:
– Develop and bring real innovation to the market, the industry
