Out of 124 indications of cancer medicines, the degree of reimbursement differs greatly – Thomas Hofmarcher
New publication in ESMO Open on access to cancer medicines in Central and Eastern Europe!
💊 We find that out of 124 indications of cancer medicines, the degree of reimbursement differs greatly, ranging from 64% in Czechia to 51% in Poland, 40% in Hungary, and 19% in Slovakia. Median waiting times from EMA approval to national reimbursement ranged from 27 months in Poland to 37 months in Hungary. Note that especially the waiting times are quite different from what the EFPIA – European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations WAIT survey suggests! We are looking at “approved indications” and not only “approved medicines“, and we have a much longer follow-up time in our study.
⚖ Notably, all countries seem to prioritize the reimbursement of medicines with a high clinical benefit (according to the ESMO-MCBS scoring system). There are however no significant differences in time to reimbursement from EMA approval to national reimbursement for medicines with high/low clinical benefit.
❗ Limited public health care resources in these countries call for a prioritization of access to effective and cost-effective cancer medicines. Incorporation of the ESMO-MCBS in reimbursement assessments and decisions could aid in better utilization of limited resources to deliver more effective cancer care.
Co-authors: Petra Szilagyiova, Anna Gustafsson, Tomáš Doležal, Piotr Rutkowski, Carl Baxter, Eugenia Karamousouli
For article: Click here