Europe pharmaceutical competitiveness

Prices of imported pharmaceuticals are regulated in such a way that the maximum allowed price to the pharmacy is linked to the price of a product with similar active substance in Europe, irrespective of the exporting country. More exactly, this price is the average of pharmacy prices in Belgium, France, Germany and Britain or that in Holland, whichever of these two is lower, plus 1.5 percent. This applies to the private market. In fact, the institutional market constitutes more than 80 percent of the pharmaceuticals market. As a rule, prices pcdd by the healthcare organizations are substantially lower. As a result, the Israeli pharmaceuticals market is highly competitive. 

Europe s biotech and pharma sectors are compromised by healthcare cost containment and the inability to provide a uniform regulatory, political and financial system. However, the national govenunents individually and collectively are committed to strategic improvements to increase competitiveness. Japan is in a similar situation, but although its pharmaceutical sector has matured its biotech industry is in its infancy. Government action to improve the research environment has been slow. 

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