Italy allocates Euro 100m of pharma investment incentives

Italy's medicines agency AIFA has allocated Euro 100m of state-funded incentives for investment by pharma companies.

The regulator said that it has approved 60 investment programmes put forward by drug companies out of the 141 applications it had originally received. Of the projects accepted, 10 are for investment in medicine production sites, 33 for pre-clinical research and 17 for Phase I and Phase II clinical trials.

Each company whose projects have been approved will receive 10% of the investments they make through the incentives programme. AIFA says that the total amount of investment in Italy will therefore be more than €1bn.

The final selection of the projects was carried out by a special multi-discipline committee. The projects that will most benefit healthcare and the national health service in Italy were chosen; the committee also took into account the impact on the country's economy and industry.

The incentives scheme was introduced through legislation passed in 2006 and covers investments made between 2006-2008. It is part of Italy's efforts to bring investment in r&d up to the same levels as the rest of Europe.

Sergio DompE, head of the industry association Farmindustria, said the approval of the incentives programme was recognition of the importance and value of the research and development work carried out by pharma companies in Italy. "The high number and the quality of the projects presented are a sign of the vitality of the drugs industry despite difficult economic conditions," he stated.

He expressed the hope that the scheme would more than just a one-off boost for the industry and that a more permanent scheme could be implemented to further increase the value of the industry and stimulate competition and employment.