Lombardy’s Next Tender: A Big Opportunity for Name-Brand and Generic Drugmakers Alike

PRICENTRIC BRIEF:

• Lombardy’s state drug-purchaser will soon be announcing another tender for medicines in the region—The previous tender had a value of €5 B and winners were awarded three-year contracts
• The next tender is anticipated to be equally as grand in scope—perhaps even larger than before, given the number of branded medicines whose patents have expired since 2018
• EVERSANA’s Director of Tender Solutions Gerardo Peccia says that it’s crucial for companies to position products and pricing in the best way to make sure no money is left on the table

THE DETAILS

MILAN, Italy – Lombardy’s 100% state-owned drug procurement agency ARIA will soon be announcing a new tender to acquire medicines for the region, and, as with the previous tender, winners will be awarded a three-year contract, with the possibility for extension. The upcoming tender in Lombardy is not only a tremendous opportunity for pharmaceutical companies already established in Italy, but also for generic companies that are aiming to directly penetrate the Italian market.

Ahead of announcing the upcoming tender, ARIA held a roundtable with suppliers. According to Gerardo Peccia, Director, Tender Solutions, EVERSANA this a notably progressive approach to tendering that underscores the region’s commitment to making the rules of play as clear as possible for everyone, in order to achieve transparent competition and a good outcome for patients.

It’s definitely a clever move on Lombardy’s part, considering the size of its previous tender. The value was €5,083,132,485.89 for 3,181 lots, including generic products and injectables for oncology, among other medicines—however, biosimilars and vaccines were excluded.

Purchases through ARIA’s Sintel Platform began at the end of 2018 and continued until mid-March 2019. As noted by ARIA in a summary of the tender, companies who offered the lowest price for a product were awarded three-year contracts, with the option for a six-month extension. In the end, offers on 2,410 lots of the initial 3,181 were concluded.

Tendering in Italy has always sought reward drugmakers who offer the lowest prices for their products. In national-level tendering directed by CONSIP in September 2020, Italy awarded contracts for biosimilars for many name-brand biologics – in some cases to multiple companies – at a 20% discount compared to the prices of these same medicines charged to public health facilities.

The same holds true for Lombardy’s regional tender. In the above example from Lombardy’s previous tender, the price of the 1^st awarded offer is 47% lower than that of the 2^nd for this single lot with a quantity of 96,000 units. Here, the difference between first and second place is noticeably large—first place is nearly half the price of second. The winning company could have offered almost double the price and still would have won the tender.

In highly-competitive scenarios like the Lombardy tender, significant price cuts often lead to a win, but there is still room to play. Such tenders necessitate price simulation in order to successfully navigate the process and secure a contract with a competitive price.

Lombardy’s next tender is scheduled to be announced in June of this year. As such, it can be expected that submissions will start being accepted in July or early August, with purchasing set to commence in June 2022. While the total value and lots of this upcoming tender have yet to be disclosed, both figures should be around the same as the previous round; potentially greater, given the number of medicines whose patents have expired since 2018 and now face generic competition.

“It is, therefore, crucial to position products and pricing in the best way,” said Peccia. “An error in the price positioning could have consequences of losing the business (exclusion) or leaving money on the table. They need to avoid bidding too low or too high and shoot themselves in the foot.”

Pricentric’s Tender Solution is a state-of-the-art tender database with simulation capabilities to help companies strategize for successful bidding, not only in Italy but other markets as well. Given the competitive nature of tendering, especially as more generic products continue to enter the market, planning is crucial for securing a contract that is optimal for both companies and buyers.

EVERSANA™ is the leading independent provider of global services to the life science industry. The company’s integrated solutions are rooted in the patient experience and span all stages of the product life cycle to deliver long-term, sustainable value for patients, prescribers, channel partners, and payers. The company serves more than 500 organizations, including innovative start-ups and established pharmaceutical companies to advance life science services for a healthier world. To learn more about EVERSANA, visit eversana.com.