5.30.2012

German prices negotiated with sick funds remain confidential under AMNOG Novelle

Dear All,

as the Deutsche Apothekerzeitung reports, the prices that manufacturers negotiate with association of sick funds (GKV Spitzenverband) after the IQWIG benefit assessment will stay confidential and will not be published in the Lauer Taxe. This is the compromise that now seems to have been reached after long discussions of the AMNOG Novelle. The vfa (Verband forschender Arzneimittelhersteller) commented that confidentiality does not mean secrecy and that private insurers and importers should know about. That would be good news for the pharmaceutical industry as the negative downward pressures on prices due to international price referencing might be avoided.

Cheers
Ulf

5.25.2012

Is the price disparity in Europe going to end?

Dear Readers,

Medaxial sent me a good paper on the issue of pharmaceutical price disparity and describes in a simple and explicit way why price differences are not going to disappear between countries. It examines the role of international price referencing and parallel trade and I especially liked the notion that they picked up on the fact that price differentiation might actually be the better solution for the development of a respective country.
Interesting read for those interested in the topic: why not having a single price...?

Cheers
Ulf

5.01.2012

Spain - yet another Royal Decree to cut costs

Dear Readers,

the financial situation in Spain gets worse by the day and the household deficit has led the government in Madrid again to issue a new package of measures to achieve additional savings in the health care sector. The new Real Decree RDL 16/2012 that was published on April 24th once again, although this time patients are directly affected as well with co payments etc, will heavily impact the pharmaceutical sector. Among the changes are modifications to the reference pricing system (selective financing via maximum prices, consideration of generics and biosimilar price levels in class etc) as well as to the price setting process in general. The Spanish organization of pharmaceutical manufacturers called the significance of the decree "without precedence" and an attack against innovation.

There will also be an advisory committee of responsible for pharmacoeconomic considerations as part of the price setting process. It looks like Spain is getting more serious now on cost-effectiveness and budget impact evaluations on national level.

I haven't fully digested the heavy pamphlet myself yet but will be reporting here on the developments.

Cheers
Ulf