In its submission to the Commission’s ongoing pharmaceutical sector inquiry, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) has assured the Commission that the perceived decline in innovation is the result of several complex factors rather than lack of efforts. The EFPIA has highlighted three primary causes that it felt were the cause for the apparent failure of R&D spending to keep pace with the dramatic increase in development costs.
The biotechnology revolution, which has been a costly period of retooling for the industry and has not yet translated into a mature pipeline of products; the rising costs of regulation, particularly of clinical trials; and the economic environment were cited by the EFPIA for the slow down in pharma R&D.
The EFPIA also claimed that the inappropriate use of cost-effectiveness assessments as a tool for rationing, pricing and reimbursement, as well as therapeutic reference pricing is posing greater threat to new investments in novel treatments. The Federation also urged the Commission to shed light on the extent of the market distortions encountered by the pharma industry in Europe, and to encourage both EU and national authorities to develop additional means to boost investment in pharma R&D.
The Federation said: “All too often, medical innovation is perceived as a threat to national health care budgets rather than a driver of economic growth and an investment in the well-being of millions.”