Cursi, president of the Industry Commission at Palazzo Madama, proposes to insert the measure with an amendment to any provision "as early as January". Longer times, therefore for the duration of the patents with the aim of "counteracting the crisis that is affecting the market, with great difficulties for the industry of the sector", said the senator on the sidelines of a conference on the 30th anniversary of the NHS , organized in Rome by the Carlo Donat-Cattin Foundation and the Sanofi Aventis group. The difficulties that are affecting the pharmaceutical industry "are sending thousands of people home. Among these, not only scientific representatives, but also researchers. This is why, on the subject, a technical table has been set up to find shared solutions to deal with a situation that puts thousands and thousands of workers at risk". Of a very different opinion AssoGenerici, which in an official press release claims that "if we continue to believe that the problem lies in the expiry of patents and in the arrival of generics, it means that we have not yet grasped the real reasons for the situation in the Italian pharmaceutical sector, well different from that of European partners and the United States". "Precisely because patent coverage in Italy is higher than that of the European Union – underlines Assogenerici – there is a lack of research and a pipeline of new products worthy of the name… In fact, in Italy, patents perform their function well beyond the official deadline, the analysis of the Osmed report also proves it, incautiously indicated as proof of the penetration of the equivalent into the Italian market". To begin with – continues the note – there is talk of an increase in the use of equivalent drugs of 51% in terms of definitive daily doses (DDD) and of 34% in expenditure. In reality, this increase concerns drugs that are no longer covered by patent (off patent) as a whole, including the original medicinal product and co-marketing copies. If the data is examined, distinguishing between the various components, it will be seen that the increase for pure equivalents (unbranded) was 11.6% in the period January-August 2008, while the other branded drugs with expired patents grew up on the 35%. It should be noted that in this period the patents of various blockbusters (for example omeprazole) expired and that much higher growth was therefore to be expected; on the other hand, as the comparison with the first eight months of 2007 shows, the increase in sales volumes of pure equivalents actually decreased: from January to August 2007 it had in fact increased by 31% (branded products that were no longer covered had in any case grown by 45% ). A clear sign that the alignment of the reference price by the specialties continues to penalize the generics".
Source: "Pharmacist33"
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