Egualia-Nomisma: time is up, without action equivalent medicines will disappear

“Il comparto degli equivalenti cresce, investe, dà lavoro, ma è schiacciato da regole che ne minano la sostenibilità. Se i prezzi restano fermi, mentre i costi produttivi aumentano a doppia cifra, il rischio è che molte aziende siano costrette ad abbandonare i farmaci essenziali, lasciando i cittadini senza cure di base”. A lanciare l’allarme è il presidente di Egualia, Stefano Collatina, presentando i dati dell’Osservatorio Nomisma 2025. “Non chiediamo sussidi a fondo perduto – prosegue – ma condizioni economiche e regolatorie eque. Non si tratta solo di investire di più, ma di spendere meglio: prezzi sostenibili, gare multi-aggiudicatarie, basi d’asta realistiche, incentivi alla produzione europea e abolizione del payback sui fuori brevetto o esclusione dal tetto di spesa”. Collatina sottolinea anche il rischio sistemico per il Ssn: “Se cede l’industria dei fuori brevetto, crolla l’intera impalcatura dell’accesso ai farmaci. Le carenze stanno aumentando, e riguardano p

A central step is the valorisation of the industry that already operates in Italy. 'Today,' argues Collatina, 'our country boasts production facilities of the highest level. This is a strategic resource that we cannot dissipate. But if we do not change course, the drugs produced in Italy run the risk of no longer being destined for the domestic market: companies will stop investing, and will progressively choose other countries to allocate their resources to. It would be an irreparable loss for the industrial system and for national security.

Lastly, a call for political responsibility: 'Equivalent medicines are not a commodity,' Collina continues, 'They are the backbone of daily therapies for millions of citizens. Without them there is no sustainable SSN, no European strategic autonomy, no equity for patients. It is time to move from declarations to facts: time has already expired'.

For Lucio Poma, chief economist of Nomisma national policies and the Critical Medicines Act represent "the last attempt to secure the European production chain". The continent buys 48% of active ingredients, 60% of intermediates and 85% of regulated raw materials abroad. "A production architecture," he concludes, "that amplifies the risks of supply disruptions, making a European industrial policy for critical essential medicines urgent.

For Marcello Gemmato, Undersecretary for Health, "equivalent medicines are a fundamental resource for guaranteeing fair access to treatment and sustainability of our National Health Service. The Government strongly supports this sector, which represents a public health garrison and a strategic industrial pillar for the country". In this direction, "the possibility of making low-cost medicines sustainable will already be examined in the next Budget Law". The Consolidated Law on Pharmaceutical Legislation "was also created in a spirit of proactivity, planning and bureaucratisation". "The objective - concludes Gemmato - is to give certainty to the sector, introducing effective tools to build a modern and sustainable system, capable of responding promptly to the needs of citizens and guaranteeing continuity of treatment".