The Portuguese Association for Medicines for Health Equity (Equalmed) has urged the government to take urgent measures to prevent shortages of essential medicines, including a price update of at least 5% for off-patent drugs in 2027.

The association representing the generic and biosimilar medicines sector called on the government today to take urgent measures to prevent shortages of essential medicines, including a price update of at least 5% for off-patent drugs in 2027.

In a statement, the Portuguese Association for Medicines for Health Equity (Equalmed) says the sector’s sustainability requires government intervention, given rising energy and logistics costs, inflation, and disruptions in production and supply chains.

Accordingly—and on the day the 2027 State Budget is to be presented to Parliament—Equalmed proposes measures to “mitigate the current fuel crisis, as well as address other factors that have diminished the sector’s attractiveness over the past 20 years.”

Pricing reform

The association advocates revising the pricing and price-adjustment framework for off-patent medicines, calling for an adjustment rate of at least 5% as part of the 2027 Annual Price Review.

It also calls for eliminating the extraordinary levy on the pharmaceutical industry to ensure “continuous and equitable access to essential medicines.” Alternatively, it proposes harmonising the levy at 2.5% for generic and biosimilar medicines in the hospital market.

Another proposed measure involves revising the incentive model for healthcare professionals to encourage the prescribing and dispensing of these medicines. The association justifies this proposal by citing the disparities in adoption rates for these drugs in Portugal compared to
other countries.

João Paulo Nascimento, president of Equalmed, warns in the statement that “production and supply chains for generic and biosimilar medicines have been facing difficulties for several years, making production unsustainable in many cases—especially in a sector where margins are tight.”

According to the association, Portuguese pharmacies dispense over 326,000 packs of generic medicines daily, yet the average price of generics is 55.3% lower than that of reference medicines. In the hospital market, this price difference reaches 96%.

“Pressure on the sector stems from a combination of factors, including high energy and logistics costs, inflation, the offshoring of production outside Europe, the effects of the pandemic, and current international conflicts,” he notes, warning that “this context increases the risk of
further supply disruptions and reduced availability of essential medicines.”

Medicines discontinued

Data presented by the association also show a decline in available supply. Over 12 years ending in July 2026, 2,453 medicine presentations were discontinued in the outpatient market, and 5,191 in the hospital market.

In the outpatient market, the retail price of generics discontinued in 2026 averaged €5.80 per pack, while in the hospital market, it was €0.66 per unit.

“Given this unsustainable production landscape, stockouts of various drug molecules in pharmacies are frequent, and it is very common for hospital tenders to go unanswered—a situation that will worsen unless appropriate policy measures are taken to incentivise the sector,” the official warns.

Access remains uneven

The association further warns that approximately 100 biological medicines are expected to lose exclusivity in Europe by 2032, with 79% of them currently having no biosimilar in development.

“Given that five of the ten most costly medicines in the hospital setting were biological medicines, this situation could further exacerbate disparities in equitable access to medicines,” it warns, highlighting that the issue is “particularly relevant” considering that usage rates of these medicines in National Health Service (SNS) hospitals “are highly unequal,” showing heterogeneous figures ranging from 6.4% to 99.2%, according to data from July 2026.

Set The Portugal News as your preferred source for news on Google

GoogleAdd as a preferred source on Google