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Press Release

For every 10 innovative medicines needed by Greek patients, the state funds fewer than 2!

The measures announced by the government over the past two years have failed to deliver any meaningful results in containing pharmaceutical expenditure.

The Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies (SFEE) and the PhARMA Innovation Forum (PIF) express their deep concern over the critical situation facing the hospital pharmaceutical reimbursement system in Greece. Data for the first half of 2025 reflect an unprecedented situation: the clawback on hospital medicines reached 80.7%, marking a further increase compared to the first half of 2024.

This negative development stands in contrast to previous government commitments regarding the gradual reduction of this mechanism, which had created expectations consistent with the country’s broader economic growth. Instead, the continued deterioration sends a clear message regarding the need for immediate joint action by the state and the pharmaceutical sector to implement meaningful reforms, as the measures introduced so far have failed to deliver the expected results. It is evident that a mechanism originally introduced as an emergency measure during the years of the economic crisis—an era that Greece has now definitively left behind—must be reduced to genuinely sustainable levels.

This development confirms that the long-standing imbalances in the financing of hospital pharmaceutical expenditure have now evolved into a structural crisis. SFEE and PIF, while recognizing the challenges involved, seek to support the government in accelerating the necessary reforms and ensuring the rational allocation of available resources, in order to safeguard patient access to innovative treatments and the sustainability of pharmaceutical companies.

Ms. Kavita Patel, President of the PhARMA Innovation Forum and General Manager of Roche Greece & Cyprus, stated:

“An 80.7% clawback represents an extremely alarming level for pharmaceutical innovation in Greece. In practical terms, it means that for every 10 innovative medicines needed by Greek patients suffering from serious, chronic, or life-threatening diseases, the state covers fewer than two, shifting virtually the entire cost burden to the companies that invest in and provide innovative therapies. And this is happening in a country with some of the lowest medicine prices in Europe. The data for the first half of 2025 clearly confirm the estimates that PIF had previously expressed regarding the unsustainability of the current situation. Our concerns are now clearly reflected in the data and highlight the need for immediate and substantial interventions.”

Mr. Olympios Papadimitriou, President of SFEE and General Manager of Novo Nordisk Greece & Cyprus, commented:

“The government’s unwillingness to make even the slightest commitment regarding the future course of pharmaceutical expenditure—even in hospitals, within an environment entirely controlled by the state—inevitably leads to the deprivation of future treatments for Greek patients. At the same time, it highlights the complacency shown by the authorities regarding whether any expenditure-control measures actually achieve their intended objectives. This approach is truly unprecedented, not only at the European but perhaps even at the global level. Pharmaceutical companies are contributing more than the state itself to financing citizens’ pharmaceutical care. We call upon the government to engage in an honest and constructive dialogue in order to establish a framework that operates fairly, effectively, and in the best interests of patients.”

SFEE and PIF emphasize that addressing this issue requires a genuine partnership between the state and the pharmaceutical industry. In a spirit of cooperation, we extend an open invitation to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance for an immediate institutional meeting and a substantive, sincere dialogue aimed at jointly shaping a sustainable, predictable, and fair pharmaceutical expenditure system. We believe that only through a collective effort can solutions be implemented that meet both patients’ needs and the capabilities of the healthcare system.