Germany Initiates Plan To Expand Pharmaceutical R&D Business

The German government initiated a strategy last week that aims to attract more pharmaceutical research and development into Germany.  Government officials hope to strengthen Germany’s “international clout” and to convince the pharma industry the country is a prime locale for pharmaceutical research, development, and production. Representatives from pharmaceutical research and manufacturing sectors will participate in several rounds of discussion, which are expected to wrap up in January 2016.

Germany, which already boasts a €42.3 billion pharmaceutical industry, with two-thirds being in foreign countries, employed over 110 thousand people in 2013 and invested more than €1.3 billion in real estate, machines, and facilities. On top of that employment figure, there is also “indirect employment” that stems from the pharmaceutical market. “Every worker in the pharmaceutical industry is complemented by 1.2 workers in downstream industries and service sectors,” according to EurActive.

Germany’s Education and Research Minister Johanna Wanka said substance research and drug development are key players in raising performance in pharmaceutical research in Germany promotes the country as a prime locale.

Wanka said, “Together with research and pharmaceutical manufacturers, we want to make better use of opportunities that we have in Germany, thanks to the first-class research environment. That is another reason why it is so important to have this dialogue on framework conditions for drug development.”

"We need Germany to remain a strong pharmaceutical hub so that patients can depend on high-quality medicines in the future. We need good conditions for research and development as well as exchange over pressing questions, such as handling bottlenecks in supply and the fight against antibiotic resistance,” German Health Minister Hermann Gröhe said. “The pharma-dialogue provides us with a platform for this."

But the push for more pharma business hasn’t come without opposition. According to Kathrin Vogler, spokesperson for pharmaceutical policy and patient rights in the Left Party's (Die Linke) Bundestag faction, these proposed discussions could become an "image campaign for pharmaceutical giants” that promotes economic policy rather than a plan for better, safer medicines.

"We must carefully observe whether the pharma-dialogue actually creates improvements in treatment and research or if it simply prioritizes regional economic policy over health policy," she explained.