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First posted: 14/10/2013
First posted: 14 October 2013
Concerning biosimilars approved and marketed in Germany, view the following related articles:
Biosimilars approved and marketed in Germany
Germany wants to increase biosimilars penetration
Germany is already a mature (well-established) market* in the use of generic medicines.
The market share of generic medicines by volume in 2008 was more than 76%, representing 36.8% in value [1]. However, generics presence could still be improved, and the following are some ideas that could help to increase the generics market share in Germany:
Recommendations
- Reduce the administrative burden for running the reference pricing system, or eliminate it altogether [2].
- Provide pharmacist incentives or regulations for generics substitution and dispensing and eliminate the financial disincentives. Impose sanctions against physicians who do not prescribe generic medicines [2].
*A mature generic market is one where generics have been on the market for more than 10 years and where the market share of generics exceeds 40% [3].
References
1. Glowicka E, Lorincz S, Pesaresi E, Sauri Romero L, Verouden V. Generic entry in prescription medicines in the EU: Main characteristics, determinants and effects [homepage on the Internet]. 2009 Jul 8 [cited 2013 Oct 14]. Available from: www.ec.europa.eu/dgs/competition/economist/prescription_medicines.pdf
2. Simoens S, De Coster S. Sustaining generic medicines markets in Europe [monograph on the Internet]. Brussels, Belgium, European Generic Medicines Association (EGA); 2006 [cited 2013 Oct 14]. Available from: www.egagenerics.com/doc/simoens-report_2006-04.pdf
3. Simoens S. International comparison of generic medicine prices. Curr Med Res Opin. 2007;23(11):2647-54.
