"Chronic diseases account for 75% of the invoice healthcare in Europe, which means more than 700 billion euros dedicated to attending these pathologies. Moreover, in some of these countries it represents a 7% erosion of GDP," according to Antoni Esteve, president of Farmaindustria and director of the pharmaceutical company Esteve. He made this statement at the closing of the XXV edition of Master's Degree in research, development and innovation of Medicines of the School of Pharmacy of the University of Navarra.

"It has been scientifically proven that early diagnosis and the use of effective drugs at an early stage in the development of a disease improves health outcomes and considerably reduces costs in the rest of the system," Esteve pointed out in his closing speech of the postgraduate program. He added: "The patient's profile in the 21st century, thanks to the therapeutic advances of the last few decades, will respond to that of an elderly, dependent, multi-pathological chronic patient. The social cost of dealing with such a healthcare scenario will grow exponentially and obliges us to manage healthcare resources intelligently and in advance".

The ceremony was presided over by Adela López de Cerain, dean of the academic center, Silvia Pérez and Ignacio Fernández de Trocóniz, director and Deputy Director of Master's Degree. Its coordinator Ariane Vettorazi presented the report of this MIDI graduating class, which in its 25th anniversary, is composed of 30 postgraduates from Spain, Ecuador, Peru and Ivory Coast.

Social commitment of the Spanish pharmaceutical sector

A recent European Commission study on social investment for growth points out that"health is a condition for a country's economic prosperity in terms of productivity, employment, human capital and public expense ". In this regard, Esteve offered in his speech a decalogue of the mission statement and social responsibility of the pharmaceutical sector in Spain, an industry "committed to the quality of the healthcare system, to its stability, its sustainability, and its industrial development ". "Our goal is to make our country more prosperous and competitive economically and socially, researching and developing new drugs that can provide solutions for patients' health: curing diseases, improving the quality of life or saving suffering for sick people and their families," he added.

In 2012, Esteve cited,"the pharmaceutical industry generated a positive trade balance of more than 54 billion euros in Europe, far ahead of other high-tech industries such as the electricity or telecommunications sector."