Increased federal spending on the importation of coronavirus medication surpasses funds allocated for research.
A new report published by the Funke media group's newspapers has raised concerns about Germany's spending priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report, released in their Saturday editions, indicates a significant disparity in spending between imported COVID-19 drugs and domestic research.
The federal government has spent around 400 million euros for the import of a new corona drug based on antibodies, which is about five and a half times more than the funding for domestic research. This spending pattern has been criticised by Kai Gehring, the science politician of the Greens, who stated that comparable investments at an early stage could have resulted in a better situation today.
The report does not provide any insight into the reasons for the disparity in spending or plans to change this spending disparity. However, it is suggested that the government's approach likely reflects immediate public health needs, cost-effectiveness, and perhaps limitations in domestic biotechnology capacity or strategic focus on regulatory and market access processes rather than early-stage research.
Germany spends a fraction of its funds for the import of new COVID-19 drugs on domestic research. This reliance on imported drugs could potentially lead to dependency on international suppliers, which could risk delays in access during global crises or supply chain disruptions. It also may slow the development of local pharmaceutical innovation ecosystems, limiting Germany's future capacity for independent drug discovery and slowing long-term advancements in domestic biomedical research.
The importance of medicines in mitigating the long-term effects of COVID-19 illnesses was emphasised by Gehring, who also highlighted that medicines are real life-savers during the pandemic. The report does not mention any specific COVID-19 drugs or medicines.
Researchers in Germany are urgently seeking funding for their projects, which need to be tested on a large scale in clinical trials. The report is based on an answer from the Federal Ministry of Research to a Green Party inquiry, but no new information was provided about the reasons for the disparity in spending, plans to change this spending disparity, or comparisons with spending by other countries.
Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek (CDU) has been criticized for wasting time during the pandemic, but the report does not specify the exact percentage or amount of the funding spent on each aspect. The Green Party is the source of the inquiry that led to this report, and they are urging the government to reconsider its approach to COVID-19 drug research.
The science politician of the Greens, Kai Gehring, criticized the federal government for spending a significant amount on imported COVID-19 drugs, while neglecting domestic health-and-wellness and medical-conditions research. He suggested that comparable investments in domestic research at an early stage could have potentially resulted in a better health-and-wellness situation today.
Despite the Urgent need for medicines in mitigating the long-term effects of COVID-19 illnesses, Germany's reliance on imported drugs might limit its future capacity for independent drug discovery and slow the development of local pharmaceutical innovation ecosystems, affecting health-and-wellness in the long run.
