MILAN, Jan 29 (APM) - The pharma industry has been stunned by a proposal from Italian regions for their drugs spending to be cut by 750 million euros, prompting lobby group Farmindustria to urge prime minister Matteo Renzi to take immediate action.

The situation has arisen in negotiations with regions for a major reduction in their funding from central government. Their solution has been to offer to forego 2 billion euros of health funding promised in a new national health plan. The regions plan to make a major part of the savings required in their drugs budgets.

In a late Wednesday statement, industry body Farmindustria said it understood the proposal made by the regional government association includes 750 million euros drug spending cuts. It described the plan as the “same old story with the pharmaceutical industry being used as a cash card” which is in conflict with a change in strategy from central government.

Farmindustria made a direct plea to ministers: “We call on the government to reject the proposal and to continue its policies of (providing) stability to which the drug companies have responded by creating jobs, attracting investment from abroad and hiring 1,600 young people in the last 10 months.”

Farmindustria suggested announcing the plan was in complete conflict with the collaborative approach seen elsewhere. It noted that only a week ago the government reopened talks about the future of pharmaceutical services in Italy. The meetings, which involve drug companies, pharmacies, wholesalers and distributors, are aimed at resolving several issues including shortages, parallel trading and pricing of drugs.

“(The talks) have highlighted the need for more resources to be directed to pharmaceutical spending so the national health system is able to pay for new innovative drugs that are coming onto the market,” Farmindustria said.

The industry body also noted that Italy’s pharma industry was showcased at the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland. The Italian government showed a video entitled ‘The Extraordinary Commonplace” to dispel myths and misunderstandings about the country’s economic performance. The Italian pharma industry, now the second largest producer of medicines in Europe, was described as a value creator and one of the most important drivers of economic growth.

Farmindustria stressed how the regional governments’ plan would undermine this success. It noted that pharma companies already lose hundreds of millions of revenues every year through payback schemes to cover overspending on medicines in Italy.

“If the proposal of the regions were approved, it would be absolutely impossible for the industry to maintain its investments and convince head offices of the credibility of Italy,” the pharma association warned.

Prime minister Matteo Renzi has led efforts to create the right conditions for pharma in Italy. In May 2014, he promised stability and reliability in regulation of the drug companies if they committed to continue investing in the country (APMMA 38451).

In October, he invited the global heads of ten pharma groups to a meeting with ministers in Rome to discuss how they could boost investment in Italy (APMMA 39992).

Farmindustria concluded its statement with a direct plea to the head of the government: “We appeal to the prime minister Matteo Renzi to intervene immediately.”

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