Medicines for Europe takes issue with OECD proposals on generics

Trade group Medicines for Europe, which represents the generics and biosimilars sector, has taken issue with the report ‘ Health at a Glance 2016’ launched yesterday prepared by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the European Commission.

The report acknowledges that the development of generic medicines markets increases efficiency in pharmaceutical spending. However, says Medicines for Europe, it focusses on short term cost-containment rather than taking into account access to medicines and the long-term sustainability of healthcare. Generic cost-containment policies have had no significant impact on overall healthcare budgets as the expenditure for generic medicines is only 2%-3%.

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