Investments in the healthcare sector have to meet the growing medical needs of Bulgarian citizens and to improve its capacity

The healthcare sector in Bulgaria forms about 6.6% of Bulgaria’s GDP, according to data from two reports published in 2023 and respectively in 2024. The BGN 10 billion added value for the Bulgarian economy includes the BGN 7 billion contribution from the medical facilities and the BGN 2.8 billion contribution from the pharmaceutical sector. 

The data are derived from the reports “Economic Footprint of Pharmaceutical Sector in Bulgaria” and “Economic Footprint of the of Medical Facilities in Bulgaria” prepared and presented by IQVIA with the support of ARPharM, BG Pharma, BATEL, respectively, of the Bulgarian Physician Union.

The direct contribution of the healthcare sector to the general state budget exceeds BGN 2.5 billion or 4.5%. This includes BGN 1.210 billion in contributions from the medical facilities in the form of paid corporate taxes, personal income taxes, and social security contributions, as well as BGN 1.3 billion in contributions from the pharmaceutical sector in the form of taxes, insurance, rebates and discounts to the NHIF for medicinal products. At manufacturer prices, which are among the lowest in Europe, in 2022 and 2023, the pharmaceutical companies contribute the NHIF with additional discounts and compensations of BGN 409 million and BGN 620 million respectively, which equates to 28 % of the NHIF budget for medicines.

Health experts and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry united around the need for a sustainable and predictable environment, guaranteeing the sustainable development of the sector and the access of Bulgarian patients to medicinal treatment

The total contribution that the pharmaceutical industry has provided for the Bulgarian economy in 2021 is estimated at approximately BGN 2.8 billion or 2.2% of the country's gross domestic product, which is in line with the average level for Europe. These and other data were presented for the first time by Mr. Luka Chichov, Executive Director of IQVIA for Central and Eastern Europe, in a report delivered on May 30, 2023 during an expert meeting "Economic and strategic contribution of pharmaceutical sector in Bulgaria".

The meeting is organized by the representative organizations of the pharmaceutical industry in Bulgaria - the Association of Scientific Research Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Bulgaria (ARPharM), the Bulgarian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (BGPharmA) and the Bulgarian Association of Wholesalers of Medicines (BATEL), with the support of the Confederation of Employers and industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB), and in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria.

The presented report outlines the essential importance of the pharmaceutical sector for the Bulgarian health care and economy, and the contribution of innovative and generic pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers, retailers and clinical trial companies.

26/05/2023, Sofia

At the regular reporting-election General Assembly of the Association of the Research-based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Bulgaria (ARPharM) held on May 18, 2023, a new Chairman of the Management Board was elected.

Todor Kesimov, so far member of the Board, is the new Chairman of ARPharM. He is General manager of "Takeda Bulgaria" EOOD, a financier by education and since 2020 a member of the Board of Directors of the Japan-Bulgaria Business Association.

The sо far Chairman of the Board, Dr. Stamen Bankovski, will take the position of Deputy Chairman. Dr. Boryana Alexieva, Head of Relations with Governmental Structures, Institutions and Patient Organizations at Johnson & Johnson, and Mr. Hesham Sabri, General Manager of Roche Bulgaria, also retain their positions on the Management Board.

During the General Assembly meeting, three new members were elected to join the governing body of the Association. Among them are Mr. Pavel Kolev - Manager of AbbVie for Bulgaria, Mrs. Maria Lukanova - Market Access Manager at Bayer Bulgaria, and Dr. Krum Kasabov - Director of Novo Nordisk for Bulgaria.

Mrs. Nevena Vidakovich, General Director of Merck Bulgaria, was elected as Controller of the organization.

20/04/2023, Sofia

The Executive Director of ARPharM delivered the "Evolution of Access to Health in Bulgaria over the last decade" presentation at the ISPOR Bulgaria chapter and ISPOR CEE Chapter 11th Adriatic Congress on Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research with Focus on CEE in Sofia.

In the past decade, access to healthcare in Bulgaria undoubtedly has improved. Public funding has doubled but remains significantly lower than the EU average. Out-of-pocket payments are quite high.

The number of hospital beds, outpatient centers, medical labs and doctors has increased. However, medical care remains unevenly distributed in the country and there is a severe shortage of nurses. Prevention and screening remain at a very low level.

Access to innovative pharmaceutical treatment has also improved. Public funding of pharmaceuticals has more than doubled but also dropped as a percentage of total public health spending due to growing industry's payback.

Bulgaria provides access to only 42 % of the new drugs authorized by EMA between 2014 and 2020 with a delay of more than 2 years following marketing authorization. While the age-standardized death rate has dropped, life expectancy remains the lowest in EU and treatable mortality is double the EU average. Despite significant improvement Bulgarian healthcare needs a comprehensive strategy for increased public investment to reach at least average EU levels.

 08/07/2022, Sofia

 At a regular meeting of the General Assembly of the Association of the Research-based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Bulgaria (ARPharM), held on May 19, 2022, two new members of the Association's Management Board (MB) were elected.

Dr. Stamen Bankovski, director for Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary of the pharmaceutical company Astellas, was elected Chairman of the ARPharM Main Board.

The other new member of the Main Board is Dr. Boryana Alexieva - Head of Relations with Governmental Structures, Institutions and Patient Organizations in Janssen - the pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson, Bulgaria.

The new figures in the management of ARPharM will continue the organisation's efforts in the direction of improving Bulgarian patients' access to quality, modern and effective medical treatment and will cooperate with all state institutions and patient organisations for the preparation of balanced policies to improve the healthcare system in our country.

May 31, 2021, Sofia

Dr. Svetoslav Tsenov is the New Chairperson of the Managing Board of ARPharM

 The regular annual General Assembly of the Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Bulgaria (ARPharM), held on the 18th of May 2021 elected a new Managing Board of the Association.

Dr. Svetoslav Tsenov, Director and Head of Strategic Development for Bulgaria, Central and Eastern Europe, Greece, Portugal and the Baltic Region of the pharmaceutical company Astellas was elected Chairman of the Management Board of ARPharM for a two-years term. Dr. Krassimira Chemishanska, Executive Director of Amgen Bulgaria and Chairperson of the Association in the previous term, following a tradition of continuity, was elected a Vice-chairperson of the association.

May 12, 2020, Sofia

 The Association of the Research-based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (ARPharM) and its member companies are committed to the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic due to coronavirus. Our thoughts are with the people affected by the infection and their loved ones, as well as with the doctors and pharmacists who are at the forefront in the fight to overcome the pandemic.

 The Research-based pharmaceutical industry is focused on three key areas: • the development of new vaccines, diagnostics and drug therapies to combat COVID-19 - around 7 vaccine applicants and over 30 antiviral drugs at various stages of development or use are currently being investigated by innovative pharmaceutical companies in over 25 clinical trials to determine whether they are effective in preventing or treating patients with COVID-19 - http://arpharm.org/index.php?id=1245;

Q. What is a coronavirus? Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which may cause illness in animals or humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The most recently discovered coronavirus causes coronavirus disease COVID-19.

 COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

On April 16, 2019, at the regular annual General Assembly of the Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Bulgaria (ARPharM) a new composition of the Managing Board of the Association was elected.

Dr. Krasimira Chemishanska, Executive Director of Amgen Bulgaria is the new Chairperson of the Main Board of ARPharM with a two-year mandate, and Dr. Svetoslav Tsenov, Deputy Chairman, Director of Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary of Astellas Pharmaceutical Company.

12/05/2019 Diseases will not give up or disappear. Luckily, neither will science nor researchers. Just as they didn’t in the 1980s when the needle and the syringe were the only known way of injecting insulin, or in the 1990s when HIV meant a death penalty, or in the 2000s when destroying the cancer cells also affected the healthy cells.

What would it mean to slow down the beginning of Alzheimer’s disease? Could antibodies slow down our resistance to antibiotics and help overcome bacterial infections? What cell therapies would it take to avoid having aggressive chemotherapy ever again? And is there potential for gene therapy to reduce the toll of lifelong treatment?

Many new drug therapies that patients in most European countries receive may remain inaccessible to Bulgarian patients in 2018, the Association of the Research-Based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Bulgaria (ARPharM) warned. The reason is a moratorium on their payment by the National Health Insurance Fund in 2018 approved by the Supervisory Board of the NHIF and submitted for consideration by the Parliament. It appears that due to this sanction the widely proclaimed increase of healthcare funds by 400 million BGN will not lead to improvement in the drug treatment of Bulgarian patients. Some of the new therapies are life-saving, offering more treatment options, and in some cases they may even be more cost-efficient for NHIF.

In June 2017 for a second consecutive year   the  pharmaceutical industry in Europe disclosed the transfers of value for research and  development  activities as  well  as  transfers  of  value to healthcare  specialists and  their  professional organizations – supporting  and  organizing  scientific  and  education  events,  registration  fees,  lecturer  fees.