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 | | Monday, 10 December, 2001, 18:56 GMT Pfizer queries European drug prices  Drug companies say high prices support research United States drugs company Pfizer is putting pressure on the French government to change its drug pricing policy. The pharmaceuticals giant argues that publicly-run health systems in Europe are stifling research and innovation by haggling over the cost of new treatments. It is in talks with the French government about the prices paid for drugs, which it argues are too low and reduce the profits available for investment. Pfizer is also understood to be trying to enlist support from other drugs companies, such as Glaxo Wellcome and Eli Lilly.
"The pricing in Europe can vary anywhere between 50% and 80% of the US prices," he said. In his view, the pricing policies of European governments may hinder patients' access to drugs. "People are paying the price in the sense that they are taking longer to get to them," he said. | |
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