The provision of affordable, high-quality health care is a political priority in Europe, and expenditure on pharmaceutical products is an important component of total health-care costs. The search by governments and health insurers to reduce health-care budgets has shown the importance of generic medicines, which are acquiring greater relevance. Generic medicines signify clear long-term savings to national health-care budgets.1 In this context, generic medicines are an essential part of the equation to the sustainability of the EU health-care system. Although the short-term results and price-cutting policies are only recent additions to the retail pharmaceutical market, the latest evidence shows that tendering and similar procurement systems play a negative role in patient health-care quality, government budgets and generic medicines industry sustainability and the capacity to continue to supply affordable prices.
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2.
PerryG. (2009) Sustaining EU healthcare systems through sustainable generic competition. EGA Barcelona Conference (June).
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European Commission. (2002) High Level Group on Innovation and Provision of Medicines in the European Union Recommendations for Action. G10 High Level Group on Medicines, Final Report (May) & European Commission, (2007): ‘First Progress Report’, Pharmaceutical Forum (September).
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European Commission. (2008) Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry Preliminary Report.
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IMS Health. (2006) New dispensing and distribution trends in Europe. (February).
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The practice of discounting is not clear to market actors and is not fair as pharmacists are not rewarded for services rendered, but for their ability to negotiate discounts on artificial prices.
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‘… due to their [Tendering] confidential nature they will affect the transparency of the whole drug market’.
11.
SimoensS.CosterS. (2007) The Arzneiverordnungsreport - Report.
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Apotex. (2009) Press release (January).
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MackayP. (2005) Is PHARMAC's sole-supply tendering policy harming the health of New Zealanders?The New Zealand Medical Journal118(1214): U1433.
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Pricewaterhousecoopers. (2009) Ontario Public Drug Programs Competitive Agreement Initiative (February).
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UK Office Fair Trading. (2004) Assessing the impact of public procurement on competition.
27.
For more information please check: http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/index_en.htm'Public procurement: Infringement proceedings against Germany concerning award of discount contracts by statutory sickness insurance funds’, IP/08/686, 6 May 2008.
28.
Directive 2001/83/EC as modified by the directive 2004/27/EC - article 24.4 and 24.5.
29.
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KanavosP.Costa-fontJ.SeeleyE. (2009) Competition in off-patent drug markets: Issues, regulation and evidence. Economic Policy23(55): 499–544.
