Mandatory generic prescribing is expected to save Spain €2bn a year

Spanish doctors will be required to prescribe generically wherever possible when a new law comes into force in the next few weeks—a move that health minister Leire Pajín has said will save the health service €2bn (£1.7bn; $2.9bn) a year.

Another €400m will be cut from the country’s drugs bill by implementing other strategies. For example, 15% is being cut from the price of drugs that have been on the market more than 10 years and whose patent has expired but for which there is not yet a generic equivalent. Mechanisms for deciding on public funding for new drugs are also being strengthened. …