The head of the Hungarian Pharmaceutical Manufacturersʼ Association (Magyosz) called for the formulation of a national strategy for the pharmaceutical industry in an interview published in business daily Világgazdaság on Thursday, summarized by state news wire MTI.
This key industry is one of the engines of export growth, yet it is affected by the most sectoral taxes, Zsuzsanna Illés argued, calling for the abolition of the special taxes. One of these, a progressive tax, also goes against the principle of predictability, she added.
The sectorʼs annual growth exceeds the national average in the economy as a whole, Illés noted, with exports accounting for 79% of total revenue in 2016. The industryʼs importance in foreign trade is highlighted by the fact that the foreign trade surplus per pharmaceutical employee came to HUF 26.6 million, almost triple the amount per vehicle industry employee, she added.
Members of the association spent HUF 65 billion on research and development in 2016, or 17% of total R&D spending in the country, and more than the R&D expenditures of the entire manufacturing sector, Illés observed.
Under a European Union directive, pharmaceutical serialization will require manufacturers to start establishing an individual identification system from February 2019, as well as to connect to the European system. Calculations show this could cost manufacturers about HUF 20 bln, said the association head.
