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Faced with the energy crisis and the cost of electricity, drug manufacturers are warning of a possible rise in the prices of generic drugs, or even the total cessation of their production in the coming months. A situation that is not impossible.
Will we find the generic drugs we are used to in pharmacies this winter? Nothing is less certain, if we are to believe the industrialists in the sector. In question, the energy crisis which is hitting European households and which is also affecting large companies. Manufacturers mention in an open letter sent on September 27 to the Ministers of Energy and Health of the Member States of the European Union as well as to the European Commission, the need to revise the method of setting prices, under penalty of to have to stop the production of drugs in the event of a further increase in electricity.
The cost of electricity is multiplied by 10
The claim comes from the association of generic drug manufacturers Medicines for Europe (MFE), representing companies such as Teva, or the Sandoz unit of Novartis. It follows two data which are currently intersecting: a price of raw materials which has increased by 50 to 160% and the cost of electricity which has increased tenfold for certain drug factories in Europe.
“Rising energy costs are eroding the margins of many essential drug makers under Europe’s fixed price system“, alerted the managing director of MFE, Adrian Van Den Hoven.
The threat of rising prices and shortages
A slow production would necessarily be problematic for Europe, where generic drugs represent around 70% of all drugs dispensed, and are used in the treatment of serious diseases such as cancer. The MFE points out in its letter two imminent problems: a possible total shutdown of certain production sites due to the price of energy, and/or an increase in certain drugs if the national health agencies do nothing.
The 27 Energy Ministers of the European Union are meeting this Friday, September 30 to find solutions to this energy crisis… But the pharmaceutical industry did not appear on the agenda.