Austria’s Medical Association has warned that the country could face future medicine shortages if price pressures on manufacturers continue.
Medical Association President Johannes Steinhart said Austria was becoming less attractive for pharmaceutical companies due to cost constraints. “If prices are squeezed further, even more medicines could disappear from the Austrian market,” he warned, according to a Der Standard report.
Steinhart cited the price band for reimbursed speciality medicines introduced in 2017, which caps prices at no more than 20 percent above the cheapest equivalent, as increasing the financial burden on manufacturers.
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Social insurance umbrella group disagrees
However, the umbrella organisation for social insurance providers dismissed the Medical Association’s concerns as “inappropriate”, arguing they created unnecessary public uncertainty.
The organisation argued that the price band, while increasing costs for health insurance, ensures greater choice and supply security. In January, 7,759 medicines were listed for public reimbursement, about 2,500 more than two decades ago.
Ernst Agneter, a specialist in pharmacology, stated at the press conference that approximately 20 generic medicines are being removed from Austria’s reimbursement list each month due to production becoming no longer economically viable.
Current medicine availability improving
Despite these warnings, the Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) told Der Standard that the current situation is calmer than last year. As of July 7th, 155 medicinal specialities had restricted availability and 264 were unavailable, compared to 532 affected products on the same date in 2024.
Most restrictions last year were caused by production delays, with cardiovascular and nervous system medicines among the most affected.
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Opposition to active ingredient prescriptions
The Medical Association also reiterated its opposition to prescriptions listing only active ingredients rather than specific products, arguing this would confuse patients and reduce treatment adherence.
The Austrian Pharmaceutical Industry Association (Pharmig) supported this stance, stating that legislative action at the EU level is needed to address supply issues.
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