Cheaper medicines from next month

A PRICE reduction in medicines will become effective on February 11 when the price list will be updated for the first time since 2009, health minister Androula Agrotou pledged yesterday.
“Savings to the consumers will come to €10 million a year,” Agrotou said during a press conference.
This is just a drop in the ocean given that the public spends €250 million a year on drugs, about €110 million worth through the public sector and the rest through private pharmacies, according to the 2011 report by auditor general Chrystalla Georghadji.
What would make an effective difference would be updating the price list at least once a year that could result in reductions of up to 20 per cent, Georghadji said in her report.
Instead, the health ministry has pushed forward a planned revision and has said that prices would not be reviewed again until 2015.
Next month, prices are expected to drop by an average of 7.0 per cent, a figure that falls short of reductions of up to 50 per cent promised by former health minister Stavros Malas who stepped down in October to run in the upcoming presidential elections.
Presidential elections are in February, a little before the price changes become effective.
Malas, who is backed by ruling party AKEL, eventually agreed with pharmaceutical companies on a lower price reduction based on the existing methodology that gets the average wholesale prices of four EU member states ranging from cheap to expensive.
Medicines costing €10 or less will be untouched to ensure manufactures continue making them.
In 2011, 79.7 per cent of the drugs were bought from only 20 of a total of 88 suppliers. And 25 specialised medicines (out of a total of 1,500 brands bought) accounted for as much as 38.7 per cent of total expenditures.
“It has been observed that in several cases only one operator takes part in the bidding competitions for the procurement of medicines,” Georghadji said in her 2011 report, adding that a lot was being spent on patented drugs that are more expensive than generic medicines.
Agrotou said yesterday that from January 1, they have updated their system dealing with the purchases of medical consumable goods – including medicines – that should deal with stock problems. The health ministry now uses an integrated IT system to check the stock levels across the island’s clinics and hospitals, allowing their purchasing and supply department to better monitor consumption and expenses, she said.

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