European study shows falling prices, rising costs and shortages - findings from independent study presented during World AMR Awareness Week by Viatris and Medicines for Europe

BRUSSELS, Nov. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As World Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness Week gets underway, the World Health Organization's 2025 Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Report shows that one in six bacterial infections globally is now resistant to antibiotics and that by 2050, AMR could cause 10 million deaths each year and drive $1 trillion in global healthcare costs, (source: WHO) underscoring the urgency of coordinated action.

This means that ensuring sustainable access to essential medicines – including off-patent antibiotics – is as critical as ever.

In the context of AMR Awareness Week, Viatris Inc. (Nasdaq: VTRS), a global healthcare company, with Medicines for Europe – the voice of the generic, biosimilar, and value-added medicines industries in Europe – present findings from a from an independent study by New Angle, a consulting and research agency, investigating the reasons behind shortages of essential off-patent medicines, with a particular focus on antibiotics.

The study, titled Securing access, improving lives. Strengthening patients' access to off-patent medicines in Europe, is highlighting calls for reforms to national pricing and procurement systems to secure patient access to medicines.

Key Findings

• Between 2020 and 2024, the average price of the top 10 off-patent antibiotics fell by 10.4%, while production costs and inflation surged.
• Industrial producer costs increased by 31.6%, labor costs by 25.7%, and energy prices by +88% (gas) and +62% (electricity).
• Amoxicillin prices dropped 18.9% despite being among the most affected by shortages.
• 240 antibiotic medicines were withdrawn from the market and 385 shortages reported across 16 European countries (Shortage reports were collected from each country's health authorities between 23rd June 2025 and 7th July 2025 and they represent shortages for a specific day).

Source: Securing access, improving lives. Strengthening patients' access to off-patent medicines in Europe – independent study conducted by New Angle, sponsored by Viatris (2025).

To secure the future for antibiotic availability, as well as other off-patent medicines, in Europe, we call for urgent policy reform that supports economic viability and availability of off-patent medicines like:

• Price indexation to inflation and production costs, so that costs remain viable for manufacturers to produce these critical medicines
• Minimum price policies – short term savings might limit availability in the mid-term. A minimum price should be established to guarantee that market conditions are viable, preventing market distortions
• Tiered pricing models – reference prices of medicines should be dynamic according to the level of competition in the market, allowing the prices to increase or decrease as the number of suppliers of that medicine decreases or increases, supporting healthy multi-supplier market competition
• Procurement reform -multi-winner tenders and non-price criteria such as supply reliability and environmental standards should be promoted EU-wide

"Off-patent antibiotics serve as an essential foundation of healthcare – enabling the routine treatment of infections and forming the established standard for surgical prophylaxis. Our study shows that while prices continue to fall due to current pricing and procurement rules, the costs of making these medicines are rising sharply, threatening their economic viability and availability. Without price and procurement reforms, patients across Europe risk losing access to these treatments, which would undermine public health and accelerate antimicrobial resistance," – Margarida Bajanca, Lead Researcher, New Angle. 

"Securing patient access to medicines requires strong and sustainable market policies that reflect the therapeutic value of off-patent medicines, fostering access and supply security for all European patients," – Artur Cwiok, President, Viatris Europe.

"Antibiotics are a cornerstone of public health. The findings in this report should serve as a wake-up call, challenging the value we place on antibiotics to society. This is part of an ever more critical discussion about whether our current pricing policies are doing more damage than good, when we look at the trends toward market consolidation. Policy makers must reform pricing policies that clearly undermine supply security. I hope this year's AMR campaign will provide a catalyst for bold action and reform," says Adrian van den Hoven, Director General of Medicines for Europe.  

The study's findings are key as institutions worldwide mark World AMR Awareness Week. For Viatris, the evidence underscores the company's broader AMR efforts matter – from cross-sector collaboration through PLATINEA in Sweden to institutional alignment via the AMR Industry Alliance, and the ongoing work to advance access to both mature and innovative antibiotics. Together, these initiatives complement the study's message: protecting patient access requires both evidence and action – for antibiotics and other essential off-treatments where sustainability challenges threaten availability.

Viatris and Medicines for Europe call on policymakers, healthcare leaders and industry partners to act on the study's evidence and build sustainable systems that secure access to essential antibiotics.

Read the full study on Viatris website (link) or with Medicines for Europe (link).

About Viatris 
Viatris Inc. (Nasdaq: VTRS) is a global healthcare company uniquely positioned to bridge the traditional divide between generics and brands, combining the best of both to more holistically address healthcare needs globally. With a mission to empower people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life, we provide access at scale, currently supplying high-quality medicines to approximately 1 billion patients around the world annually and touching all of life's moments, from birth to the end of life, acute conditions to chronic diseases. With our exceptionally extensive and diverse portfolio of medicines, a one-of-a-kind global supply chain designed to reach more people when and where they need them, and the scientific expertise to address some of the world's most enduring health challenges, access takes on deep meaning at Viatris. We are headquartered in the U.S., with global centers in Pittsburgh, Shanghai and Hyderabad, India. Learn more at viatris.com and investor.viatris.com, and connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube and X.

About Medicines for Europe
Medicines for Europe represents the generic, biosimilar and value-added medicines industries across Europe. Its vision is to provide sustainable access to high quality medicines, based on 5 important pillars: patients, quality, value, sustainability and partnership. Its members directly employ 190,000 people at over 400 manufacturing and 126 R&D sites in Europe and invest up to 17% of their turnover in R&D investment. Medicines for Europe member companies across Europe are both increasing access to medicines and driving improved health outcomes. They play a key role in creating sustainable European healthcare systems by continuing to provide high quality, effective generic medicines, whilst also innovating to create new biosimilar medicines and bringing to market value added medicines, which deliver better health outcomes, greater efficiency and/or improved safety in the hospital setting for patients. For more information, please follow us at www.medicinesforeurope.com and on LinkedIn and X @medicinesforEU.

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