The price of medicines in Portugal set to rise

Drug prices in Portugal will have to rise “sooner or later” due to inflation and political pressure, factors that tend to bring European prices closer to those practiced in the United States according to João Almeida Lopes, president of the Portuguese Pharmaceutical Association (Apifarma).

In an interview with Jornal de Negócios and Antena 1, the president of the association representing the pharmaceutical industry in Portugal explains that the cost of oil, its derivatives, and other materials such as plastics, glass, and aluminum has a direct impact on medicines, and that international tariffs also contribute to price increases.

Apifarma adds that Europe has historically practiced much lower prices than the US, especially for innovative medicines, which tends to create a convergence of values.

Despite the differences in the market, with thousands of distinct medications and varied production geographies, João Almeida Lopes believes that the value chain will achieve some resilience, avoiding dramatic increases overnight, but acknowledges that price increases are “inevitable”.

Last week, the president of Bayer’s pharmaceutical division warned that Europeans will have to pay higher prices for medicines, otherwise the continent will cease to be an attractive market for new drugs. Stefan Oelrich argues that the higher prices sold to patients in the US allow for the financing of research necessary to discover new drugs, benefiting Europeans above all. Pfizer and Novartis have also recently made similar appeals.

Source: Negócios/Antena 1; Credits: AR