2023-07-13 17:13:53
In an effort to curb price increases in the pharmaceutical sector, the Secretary of Commerce announced an agreement with the main chambers of the industry. This agreement establishes thatThe prices of medicines will remain below the evolution of inflation until the end of next August. With the measure, the government will seek to benefit patients and funders of the public and private health system, while guaranteeing a predictable trajectory for drug prices.
The compromise, reached following a dialogue between the Secretary of Commerce and representatives of various chambers of the pharmaceutical sector, exclusively covered prescription drugs sold in pharmacies.
Although initially the agreement does not include over-the-counter drugs, which increased the most compared to the previous yearit is expected that each laboratory will have the power to individually adhere to this initiative.
The executive director of the Industrial Chamber of Argentine Pharmaceutical Laboratories (Cilfa), Eduardo Franciosi, confirmed that it is a 60-day sectoral commitment, during which drug prices will remain below inflation. This measure it is estimated that it will generate out-of-pocket savings for patients and for the financing of the health system, both public and private, in the order of $7,000 million.
The rise in drug prices in recent months was cause for concern as it has outpaced the general inflation rate. According to reports from the Ministry of Health, in May the prices of medicines increased a monthly average of 9.89%, more than two percentage points above the general inflation index, which stood at 7.8%.
This trend was repeated in April, January, February and March, although in those months the increases remained below the inflation index.
According to data from the Argentine Chamber of Medicinal Specialties (Caeme), in May the prices of medicines increased by an average of 18.4% in the Roemmers laboratory, followed by Bagó and Grammon with increases of 49.9% and 52, 4%, respectively. Some laboratories, such as Nutricia-Bagó and Gramon, presented increases that even exceeded annual inflation, with increases of 142.6% and 123.5%, respectively.
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