The Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (VFA) has accused Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) of weakening the production of vital medications within Germany. Speaking to the Funke-Mediengruppe newspapers, VFA President Han Steutel cautioned that investment decisions must be based on reliability, planability, and economic viability, rather than political whims. He warned that damaging these fundamental pillars does not simply reduce production; instead, it drives it out of the country.
Steutel criticized the proposed bill-a contribution rate stabilization law introduced by Warken-for contradicting efforts to strengthen the European industrial foundation for medicines, exemplified by the “Critical Medicines Act”. He argued that the planned dynamic mandatory discount fundamentally conflicts with this goal.
According to the VFA representative, the legislative draft effectively devalues the benefit-based pricing system for innovative drugs, thereby undermining the existing negotiation principles. Steutel warned that this significantly worsens the conditions for new therapies to enter the market, ultimately restricting the availability of drug innovations and slowing down investment in Germany’s pharmaceutical industry.
In contrast, the VFA views the EU’s Critical Medicines Act as a positive and important signal, noting that it finally treats medicine supply security as an industrial policy objective. However, he also stressed that the new framework must not introduce additional bureaucracy or market interventions, but must actively facilitate investments in robust supply chains and production capacity across Europe.
The European Union aims to prevent shortages of key drugs by designating critical medications for increased production within the EU, thereby reducing dependence on external manufacturers and suppliers. While the necessity for such measures was highlighted in the context of the Iran conflict and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, actual shortages have not occurred. Nevertheless, the problem of drug shortages persists in Germany, as demonstrated by the Ministry of Health’s announcement of temporary supply shortages for certain antibiotics in January.
