Healthcare: Economic footprint of innovative pharmaceutical industry in Romania was 4.7pct of GDP in 2023 

The innovative pharmaceutical industry contributed approximately RON 51.4 billion to the Romanian economy in 2023, about 4.7% of GDP, the executive director of the Romanian Association of International Drug Manufacturers (ARPIM), Dan Zaharescu, said at the PRIA Finance for Keys Business Sectors conference."If we try to analyse the impact of pharmaceutical companies' investment in research and development, we see that investment in research and development is one of the major factors contributing to competitiveness and strategic autonomy. The innovative pharmaceutical industry is one of the most important contributors to the European Union's trade balance surplus, with annual investments of approximately EUR 50 billion in research and development in 2023 (...) In the last hundred years, the innovation-based pharmaceutical industry has contributed significantly to improving the quality of life for the patients, and also to increasing life expectancy. Today, the life expectancy at birth of European citizens is up to 30 years higher than that of those born a century ago," said Zaharescu.According to the data presented by Zaharescu, who cites a PwC report, in 2023 in the European Union, the gross added value generated by the innovative pharmaceutical industry was standing at EUR 311 billion, with the sector contributing to supporting 2.3 million jobs.As for Romania, "the total economic footprint of the innovative pharmaceutical industry in 2023 was approximately RON 51.4 billion, or 4.7% of GDP". Also in 2023, direct contributions from the national budget totalled RON 6.26 billion, about 1% of the government revenues, and direct contributions to the Romanian economy amounted to RON 17.4 billion."The pharmaceutical industry not only saves lives, but it can significantly accelerate Romania's economy. Starting from this statement, we have to recognise that the pharmaceutical industry is a key sector for the health of the population and ensuring the quality of life of the sick, but it is also a fundamental industrial sector for the economies of many important countries on the world map, where it plays an essential role in the economy, and also in scientific and medical progress. For these reasons, a plan for the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Romania is absolutely necessary, and it must start from the health needs of the population, with a guiding force for the development of an ecosystem of relationships in which innovation, production and access to medicines are part of the same set of measures that must take into account economic sustainability as well as cost control in the Romanian healthcare system. Such a plan for the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Romania should focus on three main directions of action: equitable access of patients to medicines, sustainability of the national healthcare system and promotion of innovation and competitiveness of the pharmaceutical industry."Zaharescu added that 57,000 direct and indirect jobs were created in the Romanian pharmaceutical industry in 2023."The indirect contributions and those induced in the Romanian economy by the innovative pharmaceutical industry in 2023 were, worth RON 11.4 billion in household revenues and RON 22.6 billion in induced contributions in the value chain of the economy, as the number of direct and indirect jobs created was estimated at 57,000. If we set to analyse how the Romanian state and the healthcare system could benefit from the advantages generated by the investments that could be made in Romania by the innovative pharmaceutical industry, the answer brings us back to the concept mentioned earlier, namely the need for a national plan for the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Romania, based on three major directions of action (...) The authorities and the innovative pharmaceutical industry must identify, adapt and implement models of cooperation and investment stimulation in the pharmaceutical industry based on partnership and collaboration models that have proven to be successful in other countries of the European Union," said Zaharescu.Finance Minister Barna Tanczos and officials from the financial, industry, healthcare, construction, circular economy and environment and automotive sectors discussed on Tuesday the most important issues for ensuring macroeconomic balances, strengthening resilience and increasing competitiveness at the PRIA Finance for Keys Business Sectors event.