Switzerland's drug approval process lags behind Europe

According to a recent study, medicines are approved on average 249 days later in Switzerland than by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The Swiss pharmaceutical association Interpharma said this means that access to vital medicines is becoming increasingly difficult. The benchmarking study conducted by the pharmaceutical industry and the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, Swissmedic, reveals that companies are submitting their applications later in Switzerland compared to Europe, and that the duration of the review process has also increased, Interpharma announced on Wednesday. On average, a drug is approved in Switzerland 249 days later than by the EMA, which represents a 48% increase compared to the previous year. Companies submitted their applications for authorisation to Swissmedic 244 days later than to the EMA. Interpharma attributes this to the poor framework conditions in Switzerland, which have caused the Swiss market to receive progressively less priority.