Roche: in 2011 turnover in Italy falls to 956.6 million (-3.8% y/y)
MILAN (MF-DJ)–During 2011, Roche recorded total turnover in Italy of 956.6 million euros (-3.8% y/y), confirming its position as 3* company in the pharmaceutical sector and 1* in the hospital sector.
As expected, explains a note, the financial year that has just ended was a year of transition for the company, which was affected by the problems of the pharmaceutical sector in Italy, mainly related to bureaucracy, delays in payments and in the registration of drugs, and the absence of a clear and stable policy for the sector, which primarily penalize those who carry out research and produce innovation.
The latest maneuver in July will cause companies to bear one third of the deficit of the regions relating to hospital pharmaceutical expenditure - in proportion to their hospital turnover. A provision considered by many to be unfair and which does not address the real, widely shared problem of under-financing of hospital costs in our country.
The manoeuvre, continues the note, takes the form of a real "tax on innovation" which in a certain sense removes responsibility from those regional administrations which already today regularly exceed their budget. At the same time, it does not reward virtuous behavior. Among other things, it punishes the companies that are most committed to innovation, risking discouraging investments in Research and Development.
