Will Swiss prices for medication be reined in?
Keystone/Gaetan Bally
The price difference for medicines between Switzerland and other countries has further increased. In Switzerland, patent-protected medicines cost on average 8.9% more than in other European countries. A year ago, the price difference was 5.4%.
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People abroad now pay 14.3% less for off-patent original preparations. A year ago, the price difference was only 10.8%, as the health insurance association Santésuisse and the association of research-based pharmaceutical companies Interpharma announced on Friday.
As has been the case for years, the price differences are particularly marked for generics and biosimilars, they said. According to the data, generics are 45.3% cheaper abroad, while biosimilars cost 29.9% less. The foreign price comparison compared current factory prices of medicines with those in other European countries in the period from January to April 2024.
Santésuisse Director Verena Nold pointed out that people who buy medicines in Switzerland continue to pay more than abroad, and that price differences have even increased. The association therefore expects the federal government to take immediate action, particularly regarding generics, to bring excessive prices down to the European level. Overall, more than CHF1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) could be saved annually on medicines without any loss of quality.
Interpharma Managing Director René Buholzer stated in the press release that the prices of patent-protected medicines will be brought to the European level. At constant exchange rates, the price difference to other countries would only be two percentage points. In addition, drug prices are to fall steadily. He emphasised that a one-sided focus on costs by politicians is increasingly jeopardising patients’ access to innovative medicines.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kc
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