The participation of the drug in the economy reached 6.7 billion euros

By Vicky Kourlimbini

The great contribution of the pharmaceutical field to the Greek economy is demonstrated by the annual report “The Pharmaceutical Market in Greece: Facts and Figures 2020” conducted by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research, in collaboration with the Association of Pharmaceutical Companies of Greece. According to the report, which presents the developments and trends in Greece and Europe in the field of medicine and health in general, the total contribution of the drug in terms of GDP is estimated at 6.7 billion (3.6% of GDP) in 2019 .

This means that for every one euro of added value of the companies that are active in the pharmaceutical sector, another 3.3 euros are created in the entire Greek economy. In terms of employment, the total contribution is estimated at 153 thousand jobs (or 3.9% of total employment). That is, each job in the pharmaceutical industry supports another 3 equivalent full-time jobs in the economy as a whole. Finally, the impact on tax revenues from the activity of the pharmaceutical industry is estimated at around 2 billion euros.

The development perspective of the pharmaceutical industry remains important, as R&D expenditure represents 5% of total private R&D expenditure in Greece (2017), while from 2002 to 2020 3,114 clinical trials were conducted regardless of type and phase (1.800). ).

The production of pharmaceuticals in value in 2019 amounted to 1.4 billion, while the added value to 1.2 billion (6.6% share in the manufacturing sector). The role of the pharmaceutical sector in the total foreign trade is also important, as the exports of pharmaceutical products in 2020 amounted to 2.9 billion and correspond to 9.4% of the total Greek exports of all goods for 2020.

The clawback thorn

In the area of ​​expenditure on pharmaceutical coverage, in Greece the total outpatient pharmaceutical expenditure amounted to 3.9 billion in 2020, of which only 2 billion is public funding, and the rest is borne by the pharmaceutical in the form of compulsory refunds. clawback to cover the excess cost.

As the report shows, the burden remains on the patients and the private sector, with most of it being borne by the pharmaceutical industry, through its mandatory returns and discounts (clawback & rebates), despite the ambitious efforts made to contain them. It is worth noting that the pharmaceutical industry continues to meet the needs of Greek patients in medicines, through mandatory returns, providing free over 1 in 3 medicines (36%) in outpatient and almost 1 in 2 medicines (50%) in hospital .

The challenges of the post-Covid era

The health crisis could be an opportunity and accelerate developments in the health and medicine sectors, the report said. In this direction, there should be a shift in pharmaceutical policy-making with a development perspective, to provide incentives and a stable framework for attracting foreign investment in research and development and innovation and mobilization of the country’s productive forces, to make use of big data for decision making. improving clinical research and treatment efficiencies and digitally exchanging prescriptions and patient history.