Drugmakers gear up to sue Poland over arbitrary reimbursement, listing

Major pharmaceutical producers are gearing up to sue Poland over its arbitrary and opaque selection processes for putting drugs on the national reimbursement list. The companies claim that government practices that violate European Union guidelines have inflicted losses of millions of zlotys on them.

Tensions have been mounting for years between drug companies and the Polish state, which was obliged, but failed, to introduce EU transparency directives on reimbursement selection before its accession to the EU on May 1, 2004. However, a precedent set by a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice against Germany has spurred the companies into action against Poland.

"Innovative drug producers will certainly take advantage of the ECJ's recent ruling and go to court," said Zdzislaw Sabillo, the head of Infarma, the association of research-based pharmaceutical companies in Poland.