After a year of reference drug prices in Finland, future focus setting must be a joint effort, says PIF

On April 1 this year, the reference drug price system in Finland had been in place for one year. In those 12 months, Finnish society saved over 150 million euros ($199.5 million), generated through the price competition between pharmaceutical companies and the generic substitution performed at pharmacies.

As a result, the trade group Pharma Industry Finland (PIF) states: 'We insist that the current standstill in expenditure growth be utilized to develop tools for measuring the societal benefits of medicines (cost effectiveness analyses).'

The reference price system and the competition involving patented medicines have been efficient in cutting the cost incurred for medicines. Compared with the old generic substitution regime, the reference price system affected patients' right to choose their medicinal products. The largest savings (about 60%) were made through the patented products included in the system, the PIF argues.