Spanish consumers not benefiting from generics

According to a report in the Spanish newspaper The Vanguard, the savings from competition that allows generic drug manufacturers to sell their products more cheaply than originator drugs does not end up in the pockets of the consumers nor of the public health system, with price discounts, to a large extent, benefitting pharmacies, according to the first study made by the Catalan Autoritat of Competencia (ACC).

This organization indicates that, while the selling price to the public of these medicines comes marked at the reference price determined by the government, the laboratories offer a discount averaging from 40% to the pharmacies, so that they sell the drugs under their own name, not that of another laboratory, with reductions that range between 10% and 70%.

On the other hand, in an opinion published by Jaume Puig, professor of the Research Center in Economy and Salud at the University Pompeu Fabra, under the title 'the competition and the price of the generic ones,' he affirms that the system of reference prices has been able to reduce the progressive increase in the price of medicines for which generics exist and, consequently, he has been positive on this point. However, Prof Puig considers that the competition between the prices of drugs on sale to the public is very limited and explained some reforms that have been initiated in other countries to improve this situation.