ITALIAN DRUG INDUSTRY LAUNCHES AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

Italian drugmakers' association Farmindustria has begun a public awareness campaign in an attempt to improve the industry's image. Local consumer groups have accused drug producers of profiteering and blamed manufacturers for the country's drug prices, which are reportedly among the highest in Europe.

Meanwhile, suggestions that the campaign is linked to wrangling over the country's national budget is "coincidental." The high-profile campaign is being launched on national television, and will highlight the fact that private companies account for 90% of all drug industry investment. The campaign will also make the familiar claim that the drug industry reinvests profits at an average 7% per year, totalling EUR839mn (US$1.01bn) in Italy in 2004.

According to local industry sources, the Italian drug market is the world's fifth-largest market, and was worth some EUR15.2bn (US$18.32bn) in 2004, and directly employing roughly 74,000 people. However, drug prices in the country are among the highest in the European Union, with the government currently in fraught negotiations with the industry over reform plans. Italy's health minister has warned that drugmakers will have to "justify" prices in the future, rather than simply notifying the government of their plans.