Sweden: Press release from the Swedish Competition Authority

Press release from three authorities on 14 February 2006

Proposal for more effective rules for the substitution of medicines in pharmacies

The Medicines Agency (LV), the Medicines Benefits Board (LFN) and the Competition Authority (Konkurrensverket) have, in a joint letter to the government, proposed improvements to the substitution of medicines in pharmacies.
The three-year-old reform has contributed to a substantial reduction in medicine costs for the state, the healthcare system and consumers. The proposal means that the exchange will be made even more efficient.

The Act on Pharmaceutical Benefits, etc., which came into force on 1 October 2002, means that medicines must be substituted with the cheapest, equivalent medicine available at the individual pharmacy.
A substitution will not be carried out if the prescriber of the medicine has objected to it, or if the patient chooses to pay the additional cost of the more expensive medicine.

"It is possible to further reduce society's costs for medicines," says Gunnar Alvan, Director General of the Medicines Agency. Among other things, this involves minimising the time from when an equivalent medicine is available on the market until a substitution can be applied in the pharmacy.

The proposal includes amended rules to streamline the regulatory process for determining which medicines can be substituted with equivalent, cheaper alternatives.

– Less bureaucracy, increased competition and lower medicine costs, that is the result of the proposal we have submitted, says Ann-Christin Tauberman, Director General of the Medicine Benefits Board.

– Competition in the pharmaceutical market is strengthened and consumer welfare is increased by the proposals from the three authorities. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the competitive conditions for many small pharmaceutical companies are improved, says Claes Norgren, Director General of the Competition Authority.

The proposal entails the following, essentially

• The time between LV approving a medicine and the pharmacy being able to carry out a medicine switch will be shortened, as LV will no longer have to wait for LFN's decision on subsidy.
• This provides better conditions for avoiding unnecessary court proceedings that could delay the decision on the interchangeability of the medicine by several years.
• The decision-making process of the LV and LFN concerning the substitution of medicines in pharmacies and the subsidy of medicines is simplified.

For more information, contact:
Gunnar Alvan
Director-General
The Medicines Agency
018-17 46 00      
www.mpa.se              

Ann-Christin Tauberman
Director-General
The Prescription Drugs Benefits Board
08-568 420 50www.lfn.se

Claes Norgren
Director-General
 The Competition Authority
08-700 16 00 
www.konkurrensverket.se

The proposal in its entirety can be read on the respective authority's website.

The press release and the letter are available on our website. http://konkurrensverket.se
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