APMGR: We can search for generic alternatives to the off-patent drugs withdrawn from the market

Newsroom 14/02/2017 | 14:52

The Association of Generic Drugs Producers from Romania (APMGR) says it is willing to work with the Health Ministry to ensure the presence of generic alternatives to the drugs off-patent withdrawn from the market as a result of the prices alignment.

“We understand that it’s a special situation for around 100 drugs that might be withdrawn from the market and the member companies of APMGR are committed to collaborate with authorities to find immediately alternatives to what is needed, ” said Laurentiu Mihai, executive director of APMGR.

At the same time, the APMGR asks the authorities to rethink from scratch the price policy of the drugs and especially the fiscal burden of clawback tax, which risks to affect the population’s access to treatments at an accessible price.

“We can think of punctual solutions for 100 drugs, but we can’t establish the disappearance of thousands of generic drugs from the market as a result of applying unitary the clawback tax, “ said Mihai.

According to APMGR, over 2,000 generic drugs disappeared from the market in the last years, being replaced with more expensive alternatives.

APMGR reminds that the only solution that might bring things to normal is the immediate implementation of a differentiated computation of the clawback tax for the generic drugs, based on the introduction of a maximum 65 percent share in the ‘p’ variable computation from the clawback formula.

APMGR members have production capacities in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Targu Mures and Constanta where they produce 1,500 generic drugs.