The most devastating health crisis in over a century, the global pandemic of 2020 claimed millions of lives, wreaked havoc on the world’s economies, and caused widespread disruption across every sphere of life, with ripples that are still felt today. Yet it also taught invaluable lessons, not least the importance of investing in healthcare.
The recent pandemic demonstrated that investment in healthcare innovation is crucial to the future wellbeing of society. Further to contributing to a better quality of life and hope for patients, investing in innovative medicines contributes to the creation of a strong and productive economy.
Investing in innovative medicines contributes to a strong and productive economy
Focusing on Greece, it is a fact that the country’s pharmaceutical sector faces and must overcome significant challenges—chief among these the chronic underfunding of healthcare, particularly of the pharmaceutical budget. At the same time, there is a need to establish a realistic strategy to rationalize prescribing and control overspending. The recently adopted reforms in the pharma expenditure legislation, which have a retrospective effect as of the beginning of the year, have led to an unsustainable situation whereby two out of three innovative medicines are provided for free to the Greek State by the pharmaceutical industry.
At Janssen, providing innovation that extends and saves lives, is what we do best, and we would like to continue to do so with the collaboration of all institutional partners such as governmental, state, scientific, and patient advocacy groups. For more than a century, we have fearlessly confronted the world’s most devastating and complex diseases. We are proud to be a part of Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest and most broadly-based healthcare company, and to deliver truly remarkable solutions that provide value to patients, healthcare professionals and healthcare systems, as well as lifesaving therapies that wouldn’t exist without innovation.
We support Greece’s efforts to accelerate digital transformation in healthcare and implement the necessary structural reforms to generate efficiencies in patient care, as well as economic and social added value. We are here to co-create this value, through a close partnership with the public sector and through an institutional framework that empowers patients and shields the much-needed sustainability of an advanced and robust healthcare system. That is the best way for Greece to continue to attract even more international investments in healthcare and other sectors of the economy. Collaboration means evolving together, and that is how we will accomplish our promise of creating a future where disease is a thing of the past.
