ABPI Conference 2015: Affordability – a look around Europe

How the issue of affordability is addressed around Europe was discussed at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry’s (ABPI) annual conference in London yesterday.

Richard Torbett, chief economist of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), spoke about the challenge of affording medicines in Europe. He said that while pharmaceutical expenditure is growing, it’s lagging behind growth in total health care.

Dr Torbett said that the medicines price index is declining driven by a very efficient generics market. This is especially the case in the UK compared to the rest of Europe where there is a particularly efficient off-patent sector and a long-standing and persistent problem with the uptake of new medicines.