Supply disruptions tend to primarily affect non-patented medicines which have lower prices and generate lower profit margins. Such non-patented medicinal products (also known as generic medicines) are affected far more frequently by supply disruptions than are innovative patent-protected medicines. At the same time, generic medicine account for a large part of Switzerland’s basic medicine supplies.
The Swiss pharmaceuticals industry is mainly focused on research and developing innovative new medicinal products. Products whose patent has expired and whose manufacture is complex and expensive are often sold at prices that barely cover their costs. This makes them unattractive for the Swiss pharmaceuticals sector. Swiss pharmaceuticals companies have outsourced such production to Asia. In Switzerland, there are currently only two production sites for generic drugs.