Germany is endangering one of the last industries in which Europe still holds a technological lead with its savings plan for statutory health insurance funds, writes Stefan Oelrich, board member of Bayer AG, in a guest commentary for Handelsblatt. The GKV’s Contribution Rate Stabilization Act, on which the Bundestag will vote this Friday, prevents investments and drives pharmaceutical companies out of the country.
According to Oelrich, Europe still maintains clear comparative advantages in the pharmaceutical industry – academic inventiveness remains unbroken, and production and exports are at historic highs. The Draghi report specifically highlights the sector as an engine of employment and value creation. Yet Germany is “sawing off the branch it sits on with evident relish,” Oelrich said verbatim.
The author laments that Germany has missed decisive technological leaps in large parts of its economy and is now paying the price for relying too long on inventions from the 19th and 20th centuries. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the few exceptions where Europe still leads in 21st-century innovations. With the GKV savings plan, this advantage is being recklessly squandered.
Source: www.handelsblatt.com
