Variation in the prices of oncology medicines across Europe and the implications for the future

Brian Godman; Steven Simoens; Amanj Kurdi; Gisbert Selke; John Yfantopoulos; Andrew Hill; Jolanta Gulbinovic; Antony P Martin; Angela Timoney; Dzintars Gotham; Janet Wale; Tomasz Bochenek; Iva Selke Krulichová; Eleonora Allocati; Iris Hoxha; Admir Malaj; Christian Hierländer; Anna Nachtnebel; Wouter Hamelinck; Zornitza Mitkova; Guenka Petrova; Ott Laius; Catherine Sermet; Irene Langner; Roberta Joppi; Arianit Jakupi; Elita Poplavska; Ieva Greiciute-Kuprijanov; Patricia Vella Bonanno; Hans Piepenbrink; Vincent de Valk; Robert Plisko; Magdalene Wladysiuk; Vanda Marković-Peković; Ileana Mardare; Tanja Novakovic; Mark Parker; Jurij Fürst; Dominik Tomek; Katarina Banasova; Merce Obach Cortadellas; Corrine Zara; Caridad Pontes; Maria Juhasz-Haverinen; Peter Skiold; Stuart McTaggart; Durhane Wong-Rieger; Stephen Campbell; Ruaraidh Hill

doi:10.5639/gabij.2021.1002.008

Variation in the prices of oncology medicines across Europe and the implications for the future

Brian Godman (Corresponding Author), Steven Simoens, Amanj Kurdi, Gisbert Selke, John Yfantopoulos, Andrew Hill, Jolanta Gulbinovic, Antony P Martin, Angela Timoney, Dzintars Gotham, Janet Wale, Tomasz Bochenek, Iva Selke Krulichová, Eleonora Allocati, Iris Hoxha, Admir Malaj, Christian Hierländer, Anna Nachtnebel, Wouter Hamelinck, Zornitza MitkovaGuenka Petrova, Ott Laius, Catherine Sermet, Irene Langner, Roberta Joppi, Arianit Jakupi, Elita Poplavska, Ieva Greiciute-Kuprijanov, Patricia Vella Bonanno, Hans Piepenbrink, Vincent de Valk, Robert Plisko, Magdalene Wladysiuk, Vanda Marković-Peković, Ileana Mardare, Tanja Novakovic, Mark Parker, Jurij Fürst, Dominik Tomek, Katarina Banasova, Merce Obach Cortadellas, Corrine Zara, Caridad Pontes, Maria Juhasz-Haverinen, Peter Skiold, Stuart McTaggart, Durhane Wong-Rieger, Stephen Campbell, Ruaraidh Hill

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Introduction/ Objectives: There are increasing concerns among health authorities regarding the sustainability of healthcare systems with growing expenditure on medicines including new high-priced oncology medicines. Medicine prices among European countries may be adversely affected by their population size and economic power to negotiate. There are also concerns that prices of patented medicines do not change once the prices of medicines used for negotiations substantially change. This needs to be investigated as part of the implications of low-cost generic oncology medicines. Methodology: Analysing principally reimbursed prices of patented oral oncology medicines (imatinib, erlotinib and fludarabine) between 2013 and 2017 across Europe and exploring correlations between GDP, population size, and prices. Comparing the findings with previous research regarding prices of oral generic oncology medicines. Results: The prices of imatinib, erlotinib and fludarabine did vary among European countries but showed limited price erosion over time in the absence of generics. There appeared to be no correlation between population size and prices. However, higher prices were seen among countries with higher GDP per capita which is a concern for lower income countries referencing these. Discussion and Conclusion: It is likely that the limited price erosion for patented oncology medicines will change across Europe with increased scrutiny over their prices and value as more medicines used for pricing decisions lose their patents combined with growing pressures on the oncology drug budget. In addition, discussions will continue regarding fair pricing for new oncology medicines and other approaches given ever rising prices with research showing substantial price reductions for oral oncology medicines (up to -97.8% for imatinib) once generics become available. We are also seeing appreciable price reductions for biosimilars further increasing the likelihood of these developments.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	72-82
Number of pages	11
Journal	GaBI Journal
Volume	10
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5639/gabij.2021.1002.008
Publication status	Published - Feb 2021
Externally published	Yes

Keywords*

cancer
pricing
health policy
generics

Field of Science*

3.1 Basic medicine

Publication Type*

1.1. Scientific article indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus database

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.5639/gabij.2021.1002.008

Cite this

Godman, B., Simoens, S., Kurdi, A., Selke, G., Yfantopoulos, J., Hill, A., Gulbinovic, J., Martin, A. P., Timoney, A., Gotham, D., Wale, J., Bochenek, T., Selke Krulichová, I., Allocati, E., Hoxha, I., Malaj, A., Hierländer, C., Nachtnebel, A., Hamelinck, W., ... Hill, R. (2021). Variation in the prices of oncology medicines across Europe and the implications for the future. GaBI Journal, 10(2), 72-82. https://doi.org/10.5639/gabij.2021.1002.008

@article{cae4ce1a49914f13bf03feb03e071197,

title = "Variation in the prices of oncology medicines across Europe and the implications for the future",

abstract = "Introduction/ Objectives: There are increasing concerns among health authorities regarding the sustainability of healthcare systems with growing expenditure on medicines including new high-priced oncology medicines. Medicine prices among European countries may be adversely affected by their population size and economic power to negotiate. There are also concerns that prices of patented medicines do not change once the prices of medicines used for negotiations substantially change. This needs to be investigated as part of the implications of low-cost generic oncology medicines. Methodology: Analysing principally reimbursed prices of patented oral oncology medicines (imatinib, erlotinib and fludarabine) between 2013 and 2017 across Europe and exploring correlations between GDP, population size, and prices. Comparing the findings with previous research regarding prices of oral generic oncology medicines. Results: The prices of imatinib, erlotinib and fludarabine did vary among European countries but showed limited price erosion over time in the absence of generics. There appeared to be no correlation between population size and prices. However, higher prices were seen among countries with higher GDP per capita which is a concern for lower income countries referencing these. Discussion and Conclusion: It is likely that the limited price erosion for patented oncology medicines will change across Europe with increased scrutiny over their prices and value as more medicines used for pricing decisions lose their patents combined with growing pressures on the oncology drug budget. In addition, discussions will continue regarding fair pricing for new oncology medicines and other approaches given ever rising prices with research showing substantial price reductions for oral oncology medicines (up to -97.8% for imatinib) once generics become available. We are also seeing appreciable price reductions for biosimilars further increasing the likelihood of these developments.",

keywords = "cancer, pricing, health policy, generics",

author = "Brian Godman and Steven Simoens and Amanj Kurdi and Gisbert Selke and John Yfantopoulos and Andrew Hill and Jolanta Gulbinovic and Martin, {Antony P} and Angela Timoney and Dzintars Gotham and Janet Wale and Tomasz Bochenek and {Selke Krulichov{\'a}}, Iva and Eleonora Allocati and Iris Hoxha and Admir Malaj and Christian Hierl{\"a}nder and Anna Nachtnebel and Wouter Hamelinck and Zornitza Mitkova and Guenka Petrova and Ott Laius and Catherine Sermet and Irene Langner and Roberta Joppi and Arianit Jakupi and Elita Poplavska and Ieva Greiciute-Kuprijanov and {Vella Bonanno}, Patricia and Hans Piepenbrink and {de Valk}, Vincent and Robert Plisko and Magdalene Wladysiuk and Vanda Markovi{\'c}-Pekovi{\'c} and Ileana Mardare and Tanja Novakovic and Mark Parker and Jurij F{\"u}rst and Dominik Tomek and Katarina Banasova and Cortadellas, {Merce Obach} and Corrine Zara and Caridad Pontes and Maria Juhasz-Haverinen and Peter Skiold and Stuart McTaggart and Durhane Wong-Rieger and Stephen Campbell and Ruaraidh Hill",

year = "2021",

month = feb,

doi = "10.5639/gabij.2021.1002.008",

language = "English",

volume = "10",

pages = "72--82",

journal = "GaBI Journal",

issn = "2033-6403",

publisher = "Pro Pharma Communications International",

number = "2",

}

Godman, B, Simoens, S, Kurdi, A, Selke, G, Yfantopoulos, J, Hill, A, Gulbinovic, J, Martin, AP, Timoney, A, Gotham, D, Wale, J, Bochenek, T, Selke Krulichová, I, Allocati, E, Hoxha, I, Malaj, A, Hierländer, C, Nachtnebel, A, Hamelinck, W, Mitkova, Z, Petrova, G, Laius, O, Sermet, C, Langner, I, Joppi, R, Jakupi, A, Poplavska, E, Greiciute-Kuprijanov, I, Vella Bonanno, P, Piepenbrink, H, de Valk, V, Plisko, R, Wladysiuk, M, Marković-Peković, V, Mardare, I, Novakovic, T, Parker, M, Fürst, J, Tomek, D, Banasova, K, Cortadellas, MO, Zara, C, Pontes, C, Juhasz-Haverinen, M, Skiold, P, McTaggart, S, Wong-Rieger, D, Campbell, S & Hill, R 2021, 'Variation in the prices of oncology medicines across Europe and the implications for the future', GaBI Journal, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 72-82. https://doi.org/10.5639/gabij.2021.1002.008

TY - JOUR

T1 - Variation in the prices of oncology medicines across Europe and the implications for the future

AU - Godman, Brian

AU - Simoens, Steven

AU - Kurdi, Amanj

AU - Selke, Gisbert

AU - Yfantopoulos, John

AU - Hill, Andrew

AU - Gulbinovic, Jolanta

AU - Martin, Antony P

AU - Timoney, Angela

AU - Gotham, Dzintars

AU - Wale, Janet

AU - Bochenek, Tomasz

AU - Selke Krulichová, Iva

AU - Allocati, Eleonora

AU - Hoxha, Iris

AU - Malaj, Admir

AU - Hierländer, Christian

AU - Nachtnebel, Anna

AU - Hamelinck, Wouter

AU - Mitkova, Zornitza

AU - Petrova, Guenka

AU - Laius, Ott

AU - Sermet, Catherine

AU - Langner, Irene

AU - Joppi, Roberta

AU - Jakupi, Arianit

AU - Poplavska, Elita

AU - Greiciute-Kuprijanov, Ieva

AU - Vella Bonanno, Patricia

AU - Piepenbrink, Hans

AU - de Valk, Vincent

AU - Plisko, Robert

AU - Wladysiuk, Magdalene

AU - Marković-Peković, Vanda

AU - Mardare, Ileana

AU - Novakovic, Tanja

AU - Parker, Mark

AU - Fürst, Jurij

AU - Tomek, Dominik

AU - Banasova, Katarina

AU - Cortadellas, Merce Obach

AU - Zara, Corrine

AU - Pontes, Caridad

AU - Juhasz-Haverinen, Maria

AU - Skiold, Peter

AU - McTaggart, Stuart

AU - Wong-Rieger, Durhane

AU - Campbell, Stephen

AU - Hill, Ruaraidh

PY - 2021/2

Y1 - 2021/2

N2 - Introduction/ Objectives: There are increasing concerns among health authorities regarding the sustainability of healthcare systems with growing expenditure on medicines including new high-priced oncology medicines. Medicine prices among European countries may be adversely affected by their population size and economic power to negotiate. There are also concerns that prices of patented medicines do not change once the prices of medicines used for negotiations substantially change. This needs to be investigated as part of the implications of low-cost generic oncology medicines. Methodology: Analysing principally reimbursed prices of patented oral oncology medicines (imatinib, erlotinib and fludarabine) between 2013 and 2017 across Europe and exploring correlations between GDP, population size, and prices. Comparing the findings with previous research regarding prices of oral generic oncology medicines. Results: The prices of imatinib, erlotinib and fludarabine did vary among European countries but showed limited price erosion over time in the absence of generics. There appeared to be no correlation between population size and prices. However, higher prices were seen among countries with higher GDP per capita which is a concern for lower income countries referencing these. Discussion and Conclusion: It is likely that the limited price erosion for patented oncology medicines will change across Europe with increased scrutiny over their prices and value as more medicines used for pricing decisions lose their patents combined with growing pressures on the oncology drug budget. In addition, discussions will continue regarding fair pricing for new oncology medicines and other approaches given ever rising prices with research showing substantial price reductions for oral oncology medicines (up to -97.8% for imatinib) once generics become available. We are also seeing appreciable price reductions for biosimilars further increasing the likelihood of these developments.

AB - Introduction/ Objectives: There are increasing concerns among health authorities regarding the sustainability of healthcare systems with growing expenditure on medicines including new high-priced oncology medicines. Medicine prices among European countries may be adversely affected by their population size and economic power to negotiate. There are also concerns that prices of patented medicines do not change once the prices of medicines used for negotiations substantially change. This needs to be investigated as part of the implications of low-cost generic oncology medicines. Methodology: Analysing principally reimbursed prices of patented oral oncology medicines (imatinib, erlotinib and fludarabine) between 2013 and 2017 across Europe and exploring correlations between GDP, population size, and prices. Comparing the findings with previous research regarding prices of oral generic oncology medicines. Results: The prices of imatinib, erlotinib and fludarabine did vary among European countries but showed limited price erosion over time in the absence of generics. There appeared to be no correlation between population size and prices. However, higher prices were seen among countries with higher GDP per capita which is a concern for lower income countries referencing these. Discussion and Conclusion: It is likely that the limited price erosion for patented oncology medicines will change across Europe with increased scrutiny over their prices and value as more medicines used for pricing decisions lose their patents combined with growing pressures on the oncology drug budget. In addition, discussions will continue regarding fair pricing for new oncology medicines and other approaches given ever rising prices with research showing substantial price reductions for oral oncology medicines (up to -97.8% for imatinib) once generics become available. We are also seeing appreciable price reductions for biosimilars further increasing the likelihood of these developments.

KW - cancer

KW - pricing

KW - health policy

KW - generics

UR - https://www-webofscience-com.db.rsu.lv/wos/alldb/full-record/WOS:000995498900004

U2 - 10.5639/gabij.2021.1002.008

DO - 10.5639/gabij.2021.1002.008

M3 - Article

SN - 2033-6403

VL - 10

SP - 72

EP - 82

JO - GaBI Journal

JF - GaBI Journal

IS - 2

ER -

Variation in the prices of oncology medicines across Europe and the implications for the future

Abstract

Keywords*

Field of Science*

Publication Type*

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this