During his opening speech to the debates on the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS) for 2025, Laurent Saint-Martin, Minister responsible for the Budget, announced this reduction of 100 million euros. Officially, this is to compensate for an excess of 1.2 billion euros in drug spending compared to forecasts for 2024.
However, according to internal documents we consulted, this reduction was planned well before this budget slippage. It would aim to make up for the State's shortfall in expected rebates for biosimilars, the substitution of which seems less lucrative than expected.
For pharmacies, the impact could be major. ” LThe discount, currently capped at 40%, represents around 78,000 euros per pharmacy. This corresponds to 30.10% of the gross operating surplus (EBE) », Explains Joël Lecoeur, chartered accountant and president of the CGP network.
Pharmacies, a “generic-dependent” model
According to this expert, reducing generic discounts will have a direct effect on pharmacists' income. “ Today, a holder is paid around 60,000 euros per year, or 5,000 euros per month. Generic discounts – which amount on average to 78,000 euros per year – therefore largely cover this remuneration. A drop in discounts could lead to a wave of layoffs to preserve the income of holders », alerts Joël Lecoeur.
The situation is all the more worrying as other measures could worsen the economic difficulties of pharmacies. The Economic Committee for Health Products (CEPS) forecasts further price reductions on generics in 2024:
– 25% on flagship molecules such as imatinib, letrozole, anastrozole and fluconazole.
– 18% on ezetimibe.
– 15% on nebivolol.
– 11% on cetirizine.
– 10% on alfuzosin.
« The repetition of these declines over the past two years has caused margins to plummet. If this is added to the reduction of discounts, the most fragile pharmacies will not survive », concludes Joël Lecoeur.
An uncertain future for pharmacies
While the sector is already under increasing pressure, these announcements could jeopardize many pharmacies, in particular small structures, for which generics, due to a lack of ability to produce new products, are an economic pillar. The question remains: how far will pharmacists have to go to absorb this reform? A wave of closures and layoffs is to be feared if the announced measures are maintained without any compensation.
