ZURICH: Swiss exports hit a record CHF210 billion ($211 billion) last year and the pharmaceutical sector was one of the big drivers. However, this tremendous growth is largely down to higher prices for medicines, a trend that has been criticized by some circles.
While watchmakers, the machine-tool industry and tourism officials continue to struggle, the Swiss pharma industry appears to be leading the way, seemingly unaffected by the strong Swiss franc and global economic turbulence.
Despite a slowdown last year, the 250 pharma businesses that make up the sector in Switzerland boasted record figures, exporting over CHF80 billion worth of drugs and other products – a 15% increase compared to the previous year.
The pharma industry, which has been present in Switzerland for almost 150 years, now represents almost 40% of the total value of all Swiss exports. Switzerland is therefore increasingly dependent on multinationals like Novartis, Roche and Merck Serono, their industrial activities and the jobs they provide.
Growth has been spectacular. At the end of the 1990s, the sector was responsible for 2% of Swiss gross domestic product (GDP). This now stands at around 4%.
This growth is explained by stronger demand for medicines from emerging countries, an aging population, more chronic diseases but also much higher prices for certain medicines.
“The increase in medicine prices is not only a problem for emerging and developing countries,” said Patrick Durisch, in charge of health issues at the Swiss non-governmental organization, Public Eye. “In Europe and in Switzerland some patients no longer benefit from certain treatments as they are too expensive. In the long run, these higher costs will endanger our social security and health insurance systems.”
“Switzerland is both a hostage and accomplice to its pharma industry. The recent attempt by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs to stop the Colombian Health Ministry from declaring Glivec – a Novartis cancer drug – of so-called public interest [allowing health regulators to examine the case and set a new, lower price for the drug], illustrates this situation perfectly,” said Durisch.
However, the pharma industry argues that their high prices, which can attain several thousand dollars for a single treatment, are justified on account of the rising cost of research, and longer production deadlines and procedures to market drugs, as well as competition from generic drugs.
