Thousands of people will probably have to wait longer for new medicines, because Minister Kuipers of Health is implementing measures to reduce costs. These are medicines that have already been approved for the European market, but are being examined specifically in the Netherlands. The price is also negotiated.
Kuipers has already announced that more medicines will become available later due to the new rules. “During the negotiation, a drug is not available to the patient. That is of course not desirable,” says a spokesman for the KWF.
As a result, patients have to suffer unnecessarily long, fears the Association for Innovative Medicines (VIG). “You can already see that the lead time is getting longer and longer. That will soon be even longer,” says spokesperson Merit Boersma. Her trade association for manufacturers is not against Kuipers’ plans, but does want medicines to be immediately available as soon as they are approved under European rules. “Fast availability can in some cases mean years of life savings,” she says. “But the euro goes for the patient.”
Limit goes to 20 million
Medicines that cost more than 40 million euros already have to go through this extra test. For example, people with the cancer variant Kahler have been waiting for some time for the approval of the drug Abecma, which has already been approved by the European Medicines Authority. Before it ends up in the basic package, it must first be examined extensively by the Healthcare Authority in the Netherlands.
The ministry also wants to negotiate a reasonable price before Abecma is included in the basic package. Otherwise, the basic insurance will be too expensive, says the minister. The entire process already takes more than 400 days on average, and sometimes even longer if not all data is in order right away. Every year, about ten new medicines have to pass this extra test.
There will be a handful more soon. As of July 1, pills costing more than 20 million must also pass through this so-called ‘sluice’. These are medicines that are only used by a few Dutch people, but also pills that benefit thousands of patients, the VIG knows.
The Cancer Foundation KWF understands that the new measure is necessary to keep the medicines and the basic package affordable and is therefore not against it. “But the government must ensure that it can conduct those negotiations quickly, with sufficient knowledge and people,” said a spokesman.
Rapid availability can in some cases save years of life
Minister forced
Kuipers understands that the delay is difficult for patients, he writes in the letter to parliament. ‘At the same time, the suppliers of medicines themselves are primarily responsible for the way in which, and the speed with which, they gain access to the Dutch basic package. As long as they continue to charge exceptionally high prices for expensive intramural medicines, I am forced to take measures that enable a controlled influx of these medicines.’
The VIG would like a dashboard on which patients can see which phase a medicine is in and how long it will take before there is a definite answer. That dashboard will be there, the ministry promises. That is expected in the fall. That is a few months after the introduction of the new rules, which should take effect on July 1.
Authority is investigating high prices
This week, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) started an investigation into possible excessive prices charged by three pharmaceutical manufacturers. The companies must substantiate better why they charge these prices. ACM also has signals that some medicines can only be purchased in bundles against the agreement, as a result of which patients have to purchase an unnecessary amount of expensive medicines.
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