BMI's recent report on the pharmaceutical industry in Greece highlights that the Greek pharmaceutical market has been characterised of late by mandated price reductions, state intervention in the trade of pharmaceutical goods, regressive revenue taxes, unpaid debts and drug shortages. Moreover, the Greek government has increasingly shifted some of the burden of healthcare spending onto its citizens, requiring co-payments for expensive drugs.
While we continue to hold to our view that Germany and the rest of the EU may reduce the focus on austerity and introduce some pro-growth strategies, these are unlikely to generate any upside for the pharmaceutical industry and structural reforms within Greece will be maintained. The government remains committed to huge cuts in its public drug expenditure for 2012, with a painful claw-back tax in operation and no extra resources available to pay back existing debts.