German Drug Firms Protest Discounts, Cut East’s Supplies
Drug companies in western Germany cut deliveries to the eastern part Wednesday to protest a government rule requiring them to sell medicine there at a 55% discount.
In response, hundreds of drugstores in eastern Germany refused to open for business on the first working day of the new year.
Hubertus von Loeper, an official with the German Society of Pharmaceutical Industries, said the companies have a right to refuse to deliver drugs to regions considered unprofitable.
The discount, negotiated by West and East Germany before they united on Oct. 3, was intended to help former East Germans cope with the transition from socialism to a free market society. It went into effect on New Year’s Day.
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