EuroPharma Today

European OTC Market Conference In Brief

PARIS - Italy and Hungary ease regulations for sales of nonprescription drugs. Drug companies and stores in Italy now can price nonprescription drugs as they wish as long as the amounts do not exceed prices set in December 2006 and are visible at points of sale, Guido Rasi, director general of the Italian Medicines Agency, said at the Association of the European Self-Medication Industry's (AESGP) Nov. 5 conference in Paris.

U.K. Drug Pricing Scheme To Allow Generic Substitution, Promote Innovation

The U.K. government and drug industry have negotiated a five-year pricing arrangement that includes price cuts for drugs and generic substitution, but also will allow the price of individual products to rise if manufacturers can prove the value of their drugs and will support use of new innovative therapies.

U.K. Seeks Flexible Drug Pricing; NICE Becomes Flexible On Value

The British government and pharmaceutical industry are negotiating a pricing system that allows the National Health Service to pay more for a drug as its value is demonstrated in clinical practice.

Biosimilars Create Class-wide Competition, German Experience Finds

Follow-on biologics may be able to achieve broader market penetration if they are not deemed to be interchangeable or substitutable for a single reference product, according to Novartis.