German drugmakers spending more on R&D, with total at $7.16 billion last year, says VFA

The research-based pharmaceutical industry in Germany is spending ever more on R&D, according to the country's trade association, the VFA.

Susan Knoll, communications manager, said that association 'members are devoting record sums to R&D. 2008 saw another increase: German R&D expenditure jumped by almost 7% to 4.84 billion euros ($7.16 billion), or 13 million euros a day. More importantly, we are the core innovators in medicine, providing new hope in the battle against diseases such as rheumatism or cancer. VFA members are working on 442 new treatments, which could be approved by 2013. They are also developing new drugs and finding new applications for existing treatments. As a result, over 130 diseases should be easier to tackle. Cancer patients in particular will benefit, since almost a third of new treatments are targeted at them.' 

'Pharmaceutical companies are developing a new generation of Alzheimer's drugs,' added Cornelia Yzer, general manager of the GPA. 'They are designed to delay dementia for longer and more effectively than is possible today. Four treatments have already reached the last stage of clinical trials and could be approved by 2013. The same applies to a diagnostic agent that would allow Alzheimer's to be identified far earlier, facilitating earlier treatment.'

However, she warned, 'it is crucial that innovation in this field, which is gaining momentum, should not be thwarted. It makes little sense to deem the first generation of Alzheimer's drugs helpful but take the opposite view of innovative second-generation treatments, as the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Healthcare recently did. That ignores the plight of Alzheimer's patients and their relatives and undermines research.'

Health care improvements noted

Meantime, commenting on the release of a study of medical care and drug prescriptions in Germany, Ms Yzer said: 'The quality of medical care is improving. Patients are receiving drugs that are more helpful than previous versions. This has long been evident in AIDS treatments; a previously fatal disease has become a chronic condition thanks to modern medicine. Now a similar paradigm change is occurring in various types of cancer treatments, and stroke treatments are also undergoing pervasive change. Some think expenditure on new drugs could bankrupt our health system. But the proportion of national expenditure on drugs has remained constant at 2% of Gross Domestic Product for years. Negotiations between the drug industry and health insurers will keep a lid on spending.'