The time has come for the so-called “return on investment”, that is, a measure taken in such a way that pharmaceutical companies repay their debts to the state through investments co-financed from the Recovery Fund.

On Thursday, 53 investments worth €519.3 million were approved, of which €246.8 million is public spending and €272.5 million is private participation by beneficiaries.

The lawsuit was addressed to pharmaceutical companies who were required to pay the amount of automatic reimbursement (refund) of EOPYY pharmaceutical expenses and hospital pharmaceutical expenses. This amount is the result of exceeding the budget limit for government pharmaceutical spending. Refunds have exceeded 1 billion euros in recent years and are a constant challenge for pharmaceutical companies.

The approval decision was signed by the responsible Secretary General for Research and Innovation of the Ministry of Development and Investment A. Kyriazis. A total of 65 requests for assistance were submitted from 40 potential beneficiaries.

Thanks to investments, pharmaceutical companies paid off their debts to the state.

The largest investment in the amount of 78 million euros (with private participation of 46 million euros) concerns the construction by DEMO of an industrial complex for the production of drugs and active substances of the penicillin and cytostatic categories. Also, investments of the same company (DEMO) in the amount of 36.3 million euros are funded for research and development of new pharmaceuticals with high added value, 31.5 billion euros of ELPEN AE for the development of per os dosage forms and processes with high added value. cost, €28.6 million from RAPARM for research and development of high value-added dosage forms, €21.1 million from ELPEN for the development of inhaled dosage forms, €26.5 million from DEMO for the construction of a biotechnology research center, €25.3 million €19.4 million from Pfizer for research and development of 13 new technologies, €19.4 million from WIN Medica for research and development of new high value-added pharmaceuticals and €19 million from the same company (WIN) for the construction of a new industrial plant for the production of strong drugs funds.

The investment should be completed by the end of 2023.

In connection with the decision to approve the investment, Minister Adonis Georgiadis noted that the return on investment “is given new life and creates an investment worth more than half a billion euros.” Health Minister Thanos Pleuris noted that the investment “provides the best possible service for the Greek patient” and Deputy Finance Minister Theodoros Skylakakis said “many new highly specialized jobs will be created.”