Drug prices in Europe are soaring and only expected to rise

A new report by the European Social Insurance Platform (ESIP) and the Medicines Evaluation Committee (MEDEV) reveals that the cost of medicines in Europe has risen sharply, especially for cancer and rare diseases. European countries including Germany, Spain, Belgium and Latvia are spending more on medicines, not because more people are buying them, but because they are more expensive, on Monday, the 14th of October, reports Politico.

While demographic trends, including an ageing population and more people with chronic illnesses, “could signal an increase in the volume of reimbursed medicines”,

the main driver of pharmaceutical spending “appears to be higher prices”, the report said.

David Loew, CEO of global biopharmaceutical company Ipsen, said that focusing solely on reducing drug costs without improving the efficiency of the healthcare system could hamper access to medical innovation.

However, the report points out that absolute spending on medicines is rising across the board. This was particularly pronounced in 2023, when in some countries spending on medicines increased by between 4% and 13% in a year.

In France, for example, reimbursable spending on medicines reached 38.5 billion euros in 2023, an increase of 8.5% compared to 2022. In Belgium, spending on medicines increased by 9% to 6.5 billion euros between 2021 and 2022, while in the Netherlands it rose by almost 4% to 8 billion euros over the same period.

The ESIP and MEDEV report calls on policy makers at European and national level to “prevent the undermining of publicly funded healthcare systems through policies that over-incentivise pharmaceutical companies, leading to ever-increasing and unaffordable prices”.

The EU is currently reviewing its pharmaceutical legislation to better balance incentives and access to innovative medicines. Critics argue that the current legislation encourages the misuse of incentives for rare disease drugs through overly specific classifications.

The report recommends that the proposed new legislation, currently under discussion and likely to be agreed by the EU institutions next year, should direct biomedical research and investment towards areas of greater unmet need.

“These should be identified in close collaboration with competent authorities, whose role and function is to monitor and respond to the actual therapeutic needs of the population,” the report says.

ESIP and MEDEV warn that national healthcare systems will face “increasing sustainability challenges” if the trend of rising medicine costs continues, adding that spending on medicines is expected to continue rising in the coming years.

Expenditure is mainly driven by cancer drugs, including rare disease drugs, particularly in hospitals. The cost of medicines for immunotherapy, metabolic diseases and diabetes is also rising.

The report calls for increased competition for rare disease drugs to ensure that cheaper alternatives enter the market as soon as market protection expires.

ESIP Director Yannis Natsis stated that public authorities strive to provide the best possible health care within competing national budget priorities.

He emphasized that for this to be achieved, innovations must be evidence-based and affordable, warning that the financial sustainability of health and welfare systems is at risk otherwise.

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Publish date : 2024-10-15 06:09:00

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