The data was released to Lusaby the Portuguese Association of Generic and Biosimilar Medicines (APOGEN) on the 30th anniversary of the start of the marketing of these medicines in Portugal.

Taking stock of generics in Portugal, the president of APOGEN, Maria do Carmo Neves, said that they were "a very important tool, because it has allowed more users to be treated at affordable costs".

As an example, she said that, from 2011 until today, generics have saved people more than 5 billion euros, which is equivalent to two years of costs of the total expenditure of the SNS with medicines in an outpatient setting and in a hospital setting.

“Investment in these solutions makes it possible to allocate more resources to the SNS, invest in innovation, create more jobs and contribute to the Portuguese economy through exports and a greater balance of the trade balance of medicine.

"I have no doubt that innovation has extended our lives but what has maintained sustainability are generic medicines and biosimilar medicines", she stressed.

Stagnation

But, despite the advances, the country is still far from the European average in terms of the share of generics (almost 70%). For some years, Portugal has stagnated at 48.8%.

"Any change is difficult to implement and takes a long time to reach its goals, especially when we are here treating people with doctors who have experience with a certain product and the change gives you the perception that it may not have the same results. But it's just a perception", she said, alluding to the stagnation of the generics market.