Competition of the Test-provider – competition criticised Roche for its excellent anti-body test, Roche is required of laboratories at 1.50 francs for your Test. Much too little, complain competitors. The poking, also, the fact that leaders make advertising for the Swiss group. Holger Alich9 Kommentare9Bayerns Prime Minister Markus Söder visited at the beginning of may, the diagnostics division of Roche in Penzberg. This free advertising incensed the competition.Photo: PD

pharmaceutical giants such as Roche’s for years from the media, health insurance funds and Doctors for high prices for innovative drugs criticized. For once, you must be Roche now accusations that a product is too cheap.

to market So accuse competitors of Roche, its new antibody test to be effective. The German “Handelsblatt”, according to Roche required for the Test of 1.50 francs. The products of the competitive cost 4 to about 6 francs and much more. “The price of Roche’s announcement of a fight,” said Erwin Soutschek, CEO of diagnostics company Mikrogen from the Munich area.

Roche shows unimpressed. The listed price of the Basler group wants either to deny or confirm. To the charge that fighting the market prices to roll up, has he but of himself: “The price is comparable with the prices of other antibody test for infectious diseases,” says spokesman Nicolas Dunant.

patients must

Roche does not want to disclose the price that the group provides the laboratories for the Tests in the bill, because patients have to pay a lot more. Since for an antibody test of the patients blood must be removed. The labs must pay for the personnel and also the expensive analysis equipment Finance, on which the Tests run. So, an anti-body test costs the laboratory operator Medica 108 Swiss francs.

The anti-body tests to determine if someone is to go through an infection already, and therefore, antibodies against the Coronavirus has formed. Still not sure whether the person is truly immune to the Virus, but the likelihood of this is considered to be high.

to distinguish the so-called PCR testing. This to check whether someone is currently ill with the Coronavirus. This Test is performed by throat swab.

there are also differences, who bears the costs: Because the cost of a PCR Test, the health insurance companies bear in Switzerland, minus the Franchise. An antibody test will have to pay, however, the patient. The health Commission of the national Council is now asking that users of the new Contact-Tracing App can also make free a anti-body test.

Boom in antibody tests

The industry crashes currently on anti-body tests, because with them the hope of which is connected to the true extent of the pandemic, in retrospect, to determine. Say, should States decide to allow the whole population to test, could the diagnostics division waving a big business.

there are Currently several dozen Tests on the market. Around twenty of which have the European CE certification, which is also recognised in Switzerland. Important suppliers of the US giant Abbott, Siemens Healthineers and the Swiss Start-up ratio are in addition to Roche.

“The combined performance of the policy, Roche has taken care in the industry for great irritation.”

Thorsten Hilbich, head of the diagnostics group Diasorin

It is also a question of Prestige. Therefore, the industry sucks, that German politicians are doing advertising for Roche. The German Minister of health, Jens Spahn (CDU) and the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) in early may, visited the Roche Diagnostics Penzberg in Bavaria, where the antibody test has been developed. The visit resulted in publicity photos, which Söder holds the Test in the camera. And Spahn praised the product as “so far as known to us best in Test”.

“The combined performance of the policy, Roche has taken care in the industry for large irritation”, cited the “Handelsblatt” Thorsten Hilbich, Director of the diagnostics group Diasorin. It was “strange”, when German Minister issuing significantly for the Test of a provider.

With Basel modesty, Roche CEO Severin Schwan had always stressed that the test does not have a significant effect on the results of the group. The positive Image effect of the Roche benefits in the world now, is expected to be at least as valuable as the additional business. And that Roche is now criticised for allegedly low prices, don’t pay with money.

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