Poland Lowers Prices on Locally Produced Insulin

Polish health authorities have lowered the price of domestically produced insulin, while also reducing the amount reimbursed for foreign-manufactured versions of the diabetes medicine. The move has been seen as symptomatic of the government's policy of favouring locally based drugmakers, and is followed by a new reimbursement list introduced last year, which substantially benefits local generics makers.

Notably, leading Danish insulin producer Novo Nordisk is understood to have blamed Polish rival Bioton for a half-year 2004 sales decline in the country of about 19%. As the government focuses increasingly on cost containment, relations with the multinationals remain tense as suspicions grow that the country's drug policy is becoming ever more discriminatory.