According to the Italian Antitrust Authority's document, substituting the cheaper drug with the more expensive one could cost Italy's national health service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale) approximately 400 million euros per year.
Notes on verification
Confirmed verbatim against the Epicentro/ISS page citing the AGCM document, and corroborated by multiple independent contemporaneous news outlets reporting the same 400 million euro/year figure tied to the 2013 Antitrust investigation opening. Note this was an initial 2013 estimate; the final 2014 AGCM decision cited different figures (45 million actual, up to 600 million projected). [tier=bronze indep_score=0.525 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable | framework convergence=partial on AGCM's February 2013 statement announcing the opening of its antitrust investigation into Roche and Novartis (upstreams: Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) - Italian Competition Authority, February 2013 investigation-opening communication/delibera) — publishers independent, evidence may not be | kind=attributed eligibility=high]
Sources
- Procedura di infrazione da parte dell'Autorità Antitrust (seed:health_and_medicine)
- https://www.euroconsumatori.eu/articolo/483-antitrust-avvia-istruttoria-contro-novartis-roche-possibile-intesa-restrittiva-della (corroboration)
- https://www.sanita24.ilsole24ore.com/art/dal-governo/2013-02-15/ANTITRUST_FEBBRAIO2013-075503.php?uuid=AbwlicUH&refresh_ce=1 (corroboration)
- https://news.fidelityhouse.eu/cronaca/case-farmaceutiche-180-milioni-di-multa-a-roche-e-novartis-21572.html (corroboration)