Investment in R&D of the pharmaceutical industry, a value for the whole society
Experts from the Weber Foundation and Farmaindustria clear some doubts about drug spending and analyze research challenges.
Source: www.farmaindustria.es
The pharmaceutical sector is high risk; For sample, a fact: of every ten new medicines only three recover the investment in R&D made by the companies. However, this constant investment in research translates into health, economic and social benefits. This was recalled on Thursday by the expert in Health Economics Álvaro Hidalgo, president of the Weber Foundation, and Pedro Luis Sánchez, director of Pharmaceutical Industry Studies, in an interview on the Es Es Dre Dieter program, by esRadio.
“Against what some may think, that in the pharmaceutical sector the investment recovers and enjoys a high profitability, it must be said that it is the opposite. To bring a new drug to the market, which passes the filters of all regulatory agencies, you have to investigate about 10,000 compounds, ”said Sánchez. Overcome this comes the battle in the market, which is not easy either. “In fact, of every ten medicines that go on the market, only three recover the cost in R&D,” he added.
Nor is it correct that the pharmaceutical industry is neglecting the area of ??orphan drugs, Hidalgo responded to Brandau’s question. “This statement is pure misinformation, because precisely the field of orphan drugs is where the pharmaceutical industry is focusing more. Even the public incentive system is working well for small businesses, which later often acquire big pharma, to investigate these drugs for rare diseases, ”explained the president of the Weber Foundation.
The head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Studies also refuted the criticism of those who question the high price of some medications. “You cannot talk about an isolated price without taking into account the average cost of research on medicines, about 2.7 billion euros on average, which must be spent before the drug reaches the market. Very rarely, these articles or information continue to be read until the end to know that this medicine will be used to treat only fifteen patients. Likewise, it is always forgotten that 50% of the drugs dispensed in the pharmacy office in Spain cost less than 5 euros. ”
A public pharmaceutical company
Brandau asked the experts about the proposal of the party led by Íñigo Errejón, Más País, to create a public pharmaceutical company to reduce the cost of medicines. None sees the idea sensible, given the demands of time, resources and high risk of biomedical research, which involves centers and researchers from many countries over many years. “The public sector must have the intention of making the investment of 2.7 billion euros worth a new drug on average, which does not seem likely,” said Hidalgo, who pointed out instead clear areas of public-private collaboration: “Yes it would be advisable to promote the channels between basic and applied research to translate into improvements for patients. ”
Sánchez appealed again to the wisdom, the experience of proven success that is the research model led by the pharmaceutical industry in the world and the capacity for dialogue and cooperation with the Administration. “From Farmaindustria we try to tell the reality of the research and commercialization of medicines to all agents and political representatives; some pay more attention; others less. Some have ideological positions that are complicated to refute from an economic point of view, but in most cases we tend to be able to transmit this reality, ”he reflected.
The experts explained, on the other hand, the contribution of the medicine beyond health, that is, from an economic and social point of view. “Thanks to the fact that you can take a medication if you suffer from a headache,” Hidalgo said about the example set by the program’s driver, “you can do this radio program and not take a leave. A study in Germany reveals that for every new drug that is approved, an average of 200 years of work disability is reduced. ”
Regarding the sustainability of the Spanish health system, both experts stressed that, in terms of health, one cannot speak in terms of expenditure, but of investment. “It is a matter of long term. Studies that we know of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and of the European Commission (EC) indicate that the budget for Health in Spain today is 5.9% of GDP and that in 2070 it will be 6 ,5%. It will only increase six tenths of GDP. What the studies are saying is that spending will increase a bit due to aging and new medicines, but it will do so in a percentage of contribution that other European Union countries already have today. Therefore, there is no sustainability problem, ”concluded the head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Studies.
In Distefar we agree with the words of Pedro Luis Sánchez about the costs that the pharmaceutical industries have to bear to bring a new drug to the market.
