Drugs: lower prices and new system of examination of the prices. Drug prices should fall by the next middle year. Federal Office of Public Health (OFSP) agreed with the pharmaceutical industry of a batch of measures which has to allow to save at least 250 million Swiss francs. The huge differences in price with regard to foreign countries will so be got rid of, OFSP said on Tuesday in a communiqué.

Those measures concern as much original preparations as generic. The second will have to cost at least 30 % less than original medicines at the time of their introduction on the market. Their prices will have to fall with 15 % more at the end of the next 24 months. One year after their application, the measures will be analyzed, clarifies the OFSP. The results will be verified by an external and neutral organ.

Federal Office of Public Health (OFSP) agreed with pharmaceutical industry on a batch of measures aiming at the fall in the price of the drugs. The agreement will make it possible to save at least 250 million franks: it includes immediate measures as well as carrying amendments of the system.

The OFSP, the Association of the Swiss pharmaceutical firms practising search (Interpharma), the Swiss Union of the manufacturers of generics (Intergenerika) and the Association of the pharmaceutical firms in Switzerland (vips) agreed to measures which will be put pursuant to here at mid-2006. It is about the largest batch of measures ever decided between the OFSP and the private economy. Its impact on the costs will be already perceptible very quickly. The measures of economy relate as well to the original preparations as on the credits and will allow substantial reductions in price: the great differences compared to the foreigner will be abolished, and the patients will be given better tariffs as of the semione. The batch of measures includes also various amendments of the system, which are supposed to cause a drop in the costs in a durable way. The number of controls carried out on the price of the product passes from three to four. When Swissmedic, proper authority, authorized the extension of the applicability of the original preparations, an examination of their effectiveness, their adequacy and their viability will take place seven years after their inscription on the list of specialities (LS). Finally, the credits will have to at least cost 30 % less than the originals the moment of their introduction. And, at the end 24 months, their price will have once again to drop by 15 % compared to the original preparation.

One year after their implementation by the OFSP, these measures will be analyzed within the framework of a monitoring. The results will be checked and authenticated by an external and neutral entity.

This beam of measures aims at reducing the costs of health considerably, without weakening the pole of search in Switzerland. In the future also, the pharmaceutical innovations of industry must indeed be rewarded and protected by the patents.

This beam of measures aims at reducing the costs of health considerably, without weakening the pole of search in Switzerland. In the future also, the pharmaceutical innovations of industry must indeed be rewarded and protected by the patents.