After supply bottlenecks
Are medicines too cheap in Austria?
Several hundred medicines have been unavailable or only available to a limited extent in Austria over the last two winters. Are we facing another shortage? The Vice President of the Austrian Pharmaceutical Industry Association (PHARMIG), Bernhard Wittmann, explains how it could have come to this in Austria.
The industry is working feverishly to ensure that there are no shortages this year, says Wittmann in the krone.tv live talk. However, in the past few years we have seen unexpected connections across the globe that are difficult to predict. He is therefore unable to make any predictions. Nevertheless, Wittmann is confident that we will not see such an extreme shortage as in the last two years.
High costs that nobody wants to pay
But what are the reasons behind this? Production is taking place in Austria, but as in other industries, there is great price pressure here. "In fact, the chemical industry as a whole - and the pharmaceutical industry is part of this - has moved to countries such as India and China." The cost pressure in Europe is higher due to environmental measures and social standards. "We want these standards, but at the end of the day, no one is prepared to pay for them. That is a field of tension."
From the pharmaceutical industry's point of view, medicines must become cheaper. "Of course, it's nice for social insurance and certainly also for patients when things are offered cheaply or at a lower price. But we also know this from other areas of life: if things become too cheap at some point, providers go off the market. Then perhaps only those providers who can really produce in low-wage countries will come into play." This is a situation that we as a society do not want, says Wittmann.
Wittmann, himself Managing Director of a pharmaceutical SME in Vienna and Burgenland, also gives positive examples in the talk. Made in Austria works very well in some areas.
You can watch the whole talk in the video above!
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