Medicines for Europe and APOGEN have pleasure in announcing today’s Open Industry Day in Portugal which aims to showcase the quality and safety of generic, biosimilar and value added medicines production in Europe and to discuss current and future market challenges.

This initiative is the second Open Industry Day and has been designed by APOGEN, and host Fresenius Kabi. Following a visit to a Fresenius Kabi manufacturing plant, experts gathered for a debate focused on “Driving excellence in Portugal: delivering more and better healthcare in Europe”. 

Speakers included Rui Santos Ivo, President of INFARMED, Renata Silva Gomes, AICEP Health Row Specialist, Marc-Alexander Mahl, Medicines for Europe Vice President, Paulo Lilaia, APOGEN’s Vice President and Glenn Luís, Managing Director of Fresenius Kabi Portugal  and they discussed the key challenges that off-patent medicines currently face in terms of market and industrial sustainability and explored  opportunities for further growth in Portugal and Europe. Among the key thought-leaders at the event were João Neves, Secretary of State for Economy and Rui Santos Ivo representing the Minister of Health.

The debate highlighted the importance of strengthening synergies between the national and European levels on relevant issues such as tackling medicine shortages and improving procurement systems to ensure patient access to medicines.

A forward-looking European generic, biosimilar and value added medicines industry

Speaking at the event, Medicines for Europe Vice President Marc-Alexander Mahl said “our goal today is to provide an insight into the operations of a generic pharmaceutical plant, showing the high standards of safety and quality of off-patent medicines manufacturing, which result in life enhancing and life saving medicines. The Open Industry Day is also an opportunity to illustrate the Medicines for Europe vision, ‘Together for Health’ to institutional representatives of the new EU legislative mandate. The EU needs sustainable health policies including an ambitious

pharmaceutical industrial strategy that delivers equitable and sustainable patient access to medicines. Furthermore, we need a pan European response to the upcoming challenges such as medicines shortages , digitalisation,  and antimicrobial resistance.”

Higher life expectancy makes generic and biosimilar medicines even more necessary

According to projections, by 2030, Portugal will have almost 2.5 million elderly people, which will significantly impact NHS expenditure. Generic, biosimilar and value added medicines play a key role in the sustainability of Portugal’s health sector. In the hospital environment alone, 75% of the medicines consumed are off-patent, but only impact 26% of the expenditure.

“Between 2011 and July 2019, generic medicines generated savings for the State and patients of more than 3,639 million euros. Generic and biosimilar medicines play a key role in the development of a sustainable health system which delivers better health outcomes, greater efficiency and/or improved safety in the hospital setting for patients.” said Paulo Lilaia, Vice President of APOGEN.

APOGEN

Portuguese Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association represents the companies of generic and biosimilar medicines in Portugal.

APOGEN's mission is to disseminate the concepts of generic medicine and biosimilar medicine contributing actively for the sustainability and preservation of the National Heartcare System, while promoting patient access to high quality medicines, with significant savings.

Generic and biosimilar medicines play a key role in the development of a sustainable healthcare system by providing better health outcomes and greater healthcare service for the patients.

Medicines for Europe

Medicines for Europe represents the generic, biosimilar and value added medicines industries across Europe. Its vision is to provide sustainable access to high quality medicines, based on 5 important pillars: patients, quality, value, sustainability and partnership. Its members employ 190,000 people at over 400 manufacturing and 126 R&D sites in Europe, and invest up to 17% of their turnover in medical innovation. Medicines for Europe member companies across Europe are both increasing access to medicines and driving improved health outcomes. They play a key role in creating sustainable European healthcare systems by continuing to provide high quality, effective generic medicines, whilst also innovating to create new biosimilar medicines and bringing to market value added medicines, which deliver better health outcomes, greater efficiency and/or improved safety in the hospital setting for patients.