Madrid, May 6th 2014.– FARMAINDUSTRIA considers the modification of the payment system for hospital medicines proposed by the Catsalut a deprivation of rights and a grave mistake. The system will include a pharmacological rate per patient per months for certain medicines, namely, growth hormones, selective immunosuppressant drugs and HIV antiretroviral medicines. This will come into force, if it is not stopped, on June 1st.

FARMAINDUSTRIA has conveyed this position to Catalonia’s Regional Health Minister, Boi Ruz, by means of a letter in which the Association expresses the sector’s concern and unrest regarding Catsalut’s decision, which adds to the discounts they have been applying to the same groups of medicines since last year.

FARMAINDUSTRIA additionally regrets that this measure has been taken without any prior discussion and this in turn represents a breach of rules which currently make up the Spanish pharmaceutical provision.

Likewise, the Association warns of the serious implications this decision may bring to patients given that a certain cost will be fixed per patient per month, regardless of the medicine they are receiving; patients may find that access to their most appropriate pharmacological treatments are limited or even restricted.

For all the above-mentioned reasons, the Spanish based R&D industry has requested Catalonia’s Regional Health Minister Boi Ruiz to put a stop to the application of this new system.