Balance sheet for the ALBVVG
30.09.2024 18:32
One year after the ALBVVG came into force, Pro Generika surveyed its members about its initial effects. The results are sobering: No company plans to expand antibiotic or cancer drug production. For the shortage to ease, a discussion about genuine incentives must take place during this legislative period.
Empty pharmacy shelves, worried parents, desperate patients: One year ago, the "Medicine Supply Shortage Control and Supply Improvement Act" (ALBVVG) came into force to address the drug shortage. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach's intention: to relieve manufacturers, increase prices, and bring production back to Europe. Did it work?
To draw up an initial assessment, Pro Generika surveyed its member companies, analyzed market data, and considered statements from the federal government regarding the ALBVVG. The results will be continuously updated here.
Manufacturer survey shows: no one expects production expansion
According to a member survey conducted by Pro Generika, not a single manufacturer expects the ALBVVG to lead to an expansion of antibiotic or oncology drug production in Europe. Quite the opposite: The tightened regulations on stockpiling are tying up capacity and even making the production of certain pharmaceuticals uneconomical.
Data show: so far hardly any bonuses for European antibiotic factories
So far, the results of a single tender for funding European antibiotic manufacturers under the new ALBVVG rules have been published. According to this, two contracts were awarded to manufacturers with European sources of active ingredients – nothing more.
BMG also admits that it is not aware of any effects
In response to a parliamentary question from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, the Ministry of Health stated that it had not yet evaluated the effects of the ALBVVG. This is not planned until the end of 2025.
Politicians must admit: the ALBVVG is not enough
"The Minister of Health has announced that he has solved the bottleneck problem. Production will return to Europe. Both statements ignore the reality facing companies," says Andreas Burkhardt, CEO of Pro Generika. "Although the ALBVVG (German Federal Act on the Use of Drugs and Drugs for the Treatment of Infectious Diseases) was a good idea at the beginning, we now see that it isn't working as advertised. Politicians must acknowledge this – and take further action."
What does the ALBVVG say again? How do the new tendering rules work? And what is necessary to finally end bottlenecks? Pro Generika has answered the most important questions and is constantly updating the answers.