Swedish government largely depends on Indian pharmaceutical companies to ensure cheaper access to drugs for their citizens, Health Minister of Sweden Lena Hallengren said. BusinessLine met Hallengren, who was in India for the global health ministers meeting. She said that stricter regulation can lead to effective capping of prices whose benefits can be passed on to patients. “We have 10 million inhabitants in Sweden and the cooperation with India gives us better opportunities to get results as sometimes it is difficult to design research projects in smaller populations,” she said. Excerpts:

What are Sweden’s interests in partnering with India over health care?

It is difficult to design research projects in smaller populations so partnering with India helps. Also, Anti-microbial Resistance (AMR) is a huge challenge and we have to have more action between our countries as also globally in the United Nations framework. We cannot afford to expand the healthcare systems, the hospitals, but we also have to work with preventive public health.

There is a huge interest in expanding research as India is a world market and the Swedish industry is trying to push cost-effective products in India. For example, Sweden-based MP diagnostics has a device that cuts the time for getting test results from 90 days to 90 minutes. We want to showcase such innovations.

Are there any hospitals in India that Sweden is hand holding to tackle infection and such problems?

Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi is a very good example. Our Public Health Agency in Sweden and National Centre for Disease Control in India are partnering and Safdarjung is a pilot case where there will be increased focus on AMR surveillance.

The Swedish feel very strongly about capping prices of drugs sold by pharmaceutical companies. How do you implement these policies?

Most of the hospitals in Sweden are public and we have the health care centres. A lot of them are run privately, but get paid in the same way whether you are in public or private set-up. If you want to establish a healthcare centre, you get a list of patients who want to sign for you as a doctor from the government. The government pays for the patient visits.

Capping pharmaceuticals is very important, otherwise we will not have healthcare for all, for it does not matter if it is free to visit the doctor if you cannot buy the medicines. So the doctors and pharmacies are ordered to find and sell or give cheapest drugs to the patient. If someone wants a particular preference, which is highly priced, when cheaper option is available, then the patient has to pay for it themselves. Also, there are Indian enterprises in Sweden and Indian generic pharmaceutical production is a very large part of Swedish drug market.

Is there a problem in Sweden with alcohol, as there is with India — close to 300-odd million people in need of alcohol support?

Yes, in Sweden it is a state monopoly as far as alcohol goes. There is a 100 per cent State-owned company that sells alcohol. You have to be 20, show your ID, to buy alcohol. The shops selling alcohol close in evening, they are not open on Sunday and sale is thus restricted. When we have a restricted alcohol policy, young people postpone their consumption is what we have realised.

Sweden has spent 11 per cent of the GDP, while India has not been raising its budget beyond 1.5 per cent despite consistent push for 3.5-per cent allocation to health. How do you perceive this?

It is quite difficult to compare both because in Sweden the financing for private sector is also in government budget. Also, people are paying taxes in Sweden, high taxes some people may think, but in my opinion it is what you get, out of the tax you pay that matters. So people are paying a lot of tax to get this welfare and healthcare.

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