“This expenditure on diabetes [1.4 billion euros] is comparable to the 2024 annual budgets of the Local Health Units of Santa Maria and São João, highlighting the crucial role in treatment accessibility for this chronic disease affecting over one million Portuguese individuals,” states the Portuguese Association of Medicines for Health Equity (Equalmed).
Released on World Diabetes Day, the data reveal that, by September this year, savings generated from the use of generic oral antidiabetic medications have already exceeded 62 million euros.
According to Equalmed, antidiabetics rank among the therapeutic classes with the highest costs for the National Health Service.
Citing data from Infarmed’s medication consumption monitoring report in ambulatory settings, the association notes that the consumption of oral antidiabetics has remained stable in recent years, with dispensing exceeding 62 million units.
“Generic medicines, in addition to improving accessibility and patients’ quality of life, seem to make it important to note today that we still have a high rate of uncontrolled diabetes in Portugal, exceeding 35%,” emphasizes João Paulo Nascimento, president of Equalmed, in the statement.
In type 2 diabetes treatment, generic medications have facilitated patient access to innovative treatments, especially DPP-IV inhibitors, also known as gliptins.
According to the association, the number of generic oral antidiabetic units remains stable, with more than 5 million dispensed in 2025 alone.
It notes, however, “there is potential for the generated value to be even greater in the future with the end of the exclusivity period for more recent and innovative therapeutic solutions’ patents.”
Considering the global commemoration’s objective to reduce inequalities in treatment and prevention of this metabolic disease, the association president argues it is “essential to ensure all patients have a better quality of life and equitable access to medication.”
Portugal registered nearly 81,000 new diabetes cases in 2024, bringing the number of people diagnosed with the disease in health centers to over 936,000, according to the Directorate-General for Health.
