Greece,

June 2023

Thanks to a more stable macroeconomic and political footing than at any time in the past 15 years, Greeks once more have cause for cautious optimism about their country’s direction of travel. Many of the half a million educated young people who left the country in search of opportunities elsewhere during the crisis are returning, while Greece’s network of local industry – much of which has simply been focused on survival since 2008 – is now looking to advance, diversify, and internationalise.

This is especially true of the country’s local pharma manufacturers, where stakeholders are hopeful that Greece capitalises on its opportunity to establish itself as an essential medicine hub for Europe post-COVID. Baby steps have also been taken towards creating the fundamentals for more investment from the global innovative industry, including in terms of manufacturing as well as clinical trials and shared service centres.

Nevertheless, as this new edition of Healthcare & Life Sciences Review: Greece 2023 clearly shows, the low levels of funding allocated to Greek healthcare, as well as the punishingly high rebates and clawbacks to which companies operating in it are subjected, mean that the country’s opportunities for growth in this field are severely restricted. Through interviews with leading lights from local champions, innovative multinationals, association heads, medical device players, and government stakeholders, a picture emerges of a country that in many ways is ready for take-off but which – for now – remains on the runway.

Articles

Long Read: Greece – Back on Track?

After 15 years of economic struggles coupled with political swings to the left and right, Greece seems to be on its surest footing in decades. Indeed, the Economist observed that the May 2023 election victory of incumbent Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (and the heavy defeat handed to his left wing opponents Syriza which governed…

Greek Pharma Talent: Brain Regain in Action?

Greece’s deep and painful sovereign debt crisis lasted almost a decade and saw up to 500,000 Greeks leave the country in search of opportunities elsewhere as the country’s economy shrunk by a quarter and unemployment shot up to 28 percent. 26 percent of those emigrating held a degree, and 69 percent a master’s or PhD,…

RAFARM’s Stateside Strategy

One of Greece’s leading domestic pharmaceutical companies, RAFARM has had a stellar recent history, including a momentous entry into the US market. Now looking to establish itself as one of Europe’s major players in ophthalmics and complex injectables, VP Aris Mitsopoulos highlights the key learnings from this US experience and his ambitious growth plan for…

Clinical Trials in Greece: Small Steps Forward

Greece is a middling performer in terms of clinical trial numbers on the European stage, nestled next to Finland and Romania on total trial numbers between 2002 and 2020 but ahead of Germany and Italy on trials per capita. However, the pharmaceutical industry does see opportunities for establishing greater trial footprints in the country, as…

Greek Market Access: The Medtech Perspective

Country managers from three leading medtech multinationals give their take on the key access challenges facing medical device companies in Greece. New Access Models “While some value-based procurement agreements have been struck in the private sector, we are struggling to gain acceptance for such agreements in the public sector. This will require the industry…

DEMO Pharma: The Risk Taker Spearheading Greece’s Pharma Manufacturing Push

DEMO, founded in 1965, is a mainstay of Greek pharma and one of its largest companies, accounting for 25 percent of the total investment across the entire Greek pharmaceutical sector. Throughout its long history DEMO has shifted its focus, moved towards exports and weathered Greece’s financial crisis. Today, the family-owned company is once more opening…