Federal government wants to make pharmaceutical production in Germany more attractive
The action plan is the German government's response to recent supply bottlenecks for some medicines. In recent years, the production of many important medicines has moved to cheaper locations such as China or India. Problems with supply chains and other issues had led to some medicines becoming temporarily scarce or even unavailable in Germany. The new strategy aims to reduce such dependencies on the global market.
The action plan envisages that the German government will examine new funding instruments to support the establishment of new production facilities. The development of scarce drugs - such as antibiotics or drugs for rare diseases - is to receive special support. A new Federal Ethics Commission is to be set up at the Federal Institute for Drugs to decide quickly on important research applications. The results of medical research are to be passed on to the pharmaceutical industry more quickly.
Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) explained on the adoption of the strategy: "Our aim is to make our country an attractive location for the research, development and production of pharmaceuticals once again." The action plan should "contribute to the medical and health sovereignty of our country".
Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) emphasized that the industry should "create research and innovation-friendly framework conditions and reduce bureaucratic hurdles." She added: "This is the only way Germany can remain a successful pharmaceutical location in the long term."
The strategy paper that has now been adopted states that in recent years, "Germany has become less attractive internationally as a location for research and development". Globalization and strong cost pressure have "already led to an exodus" of production for a large number of active ingredients and pharmaceuticals.
According to the document, 60 percent of the active ingredients of approved drugs were already produced in Asia in 2020. 20 years earlier, the figure was only 30 percent. "This development harbors the risk of strategic dependencies and increases the risk of supply chain disruptions and thus the risk of supply and supply bottlenecks." The new strategy is intended to counteract this development.
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Source: www.stern.de
