Evidence Life Science Newsroom

Pricing & Reimbursement Models in Uruguay

Though one of South America’s smaller countries, Uruguay has developed a sophisticated system for the provision of healthcare that enables the entire population to access the care they need- including High-Cost prescription medicines. At the Market Access in Latin america Leaders Forum, staged by NextLevel Life Sciences in Sao Paulo in the summer of 2016, Alicia Ferreira- Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Country’s National Resources Fund (Fondo Nacional de Recursoc,FNR)- Provided details on the different Pricing & Reimbursement (P&R) Models used to support the funding of medicines, and discussed with delegates the challeneges facing the FNR as it seeks to improve care quality and reduce inefficiencies. After the Meeting, she spoke with Eoin Jennings for PPR. Read more...

How can Pharma Companies Evolve – Bridging the Gap from Life Science to Computer Science?

The recent renaissance of machine learning promises to transform the data-rich world of healthcare, and there are hardly any healthcare segments more excited than the pharmaceutical industry. Partnering with NextLevel Life Sciences, we set out to ask life sciences industry experts two questions that matter the life sciences business leaders today: 1. What are the main challenges for pharma companies to bring on and integrate AI talent and tech? 2. What are successful pharma companies doing today to better prepare for a data-fueled, machine learning future? Read more...

UK: NHS Payer/Provider Perspective on the Challenges of Expensive New Drugs

At the recent PharmAccess Leaders Forum staged by NextLevel Pharma in Berlin, Germany, Raj Patel, General Practitioner (GP) and Medical Director NHS England (Lancashire & Greater Manchester), offered some insights into the challenges faced by payers and providers operating within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) as they attempt to manage the utilisation of expensive new drugs. Following the meeting, he spoke with Mick Maroney for PPR. Read more...

Biosimilars: Lessons to Learn from Norway and other Nordic Markets

At the Nordic Market Access Leaders Forum staged by NextLevel Pharma in Stockholm in April 2016, Steinar Madsen, Medical Director with the Department of Drug Information at the Morwegian Medicines Agency (NOMA, STATENS LEGEMIDDELVERK), discussed factors affecting the penetration of biosimilars in Norway, as well as other Nordic markets. Following the meeting, he spoke to Mick Maroney for PPR. Read more...

US: Pharmacy Strategy Director Offers Payer Perspective on Shift to Value-based Models

At the PharmAccess Leaders Forum staged by NextLevel Pharma in London in April 2016, Saira Jan, Director of Pharmacy Strategy and Clinical Integration with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Clinical Professor at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, discussed how data-driven decision making is underpinning a shift to ward quality and value-based payment models in the US. Following the meeting, she spoke with Mick Maroney of PPR. Read more...

Denmark investing more in innovative medicines

Denmark is the main market in Europe that is most open to innovative medicines. Sweden comes in fourth place, after Germany, the runner-up, and third-place Belgium. It is illustrated by a ranking of IMS Health made in 2014, based on the comparative figures for the period 2010-2014. The statistics are based on the amount of money invested in innovative medicines per capita. Read more...

Further follow-up data can strengthen confidence in Value-Based Pricing

More dynamic pricing of a drug can lead to repetitive re-evaluation of a drug's value during its life cycle, due to new follow-up data collection. “It can mean both lower and higher prices, but we are in the early stages of this development so far and would need to cooperate with other stakeholders to invent better systems for data monitoring and evidence generation,”- commented Niklas Hedberg, Chief Pharmacist at the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency, TLV, at the Nordic Market Access Leaders Forum held on April 19-20th in Stockholm, Sweden. Read more...

Belgium: Managing the Entry of Innovative Products

At the PharmAccess Leaders Forum staged by NextLevel Pharma in Berlin in October 2015, Annemie Quanten, pharmacist and acting president of the taskforce responsible for managed entry agreements (MEAS) at Belgium’s National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (Institut National D’Assurance Maladie-Invalidité, INAMI) discussed the Belgian authorities’ use of MEAs for the reimbursement of new drugs. Following the meeting, she spoke with Mick Maroney for PPR. Read more...

HTA in Central and Eastern Europe : Mapping the Development of New Systems in Emerging Markets

At the recent PharmAccess Leaders Forum, hosted by NextLevel Pharma in Berlin in October 2014, Jaime Espín, professor at the Andalusian School of Public Health, brought delegates up to date with the work of the European Commission (EC)-funded advance HTA project, which aims to track developments in health technology assessment (HTA) in emerging markets globally, including Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). After the meeting, he spoke with Eoin Jennings for PPR. Read more...

Brazil: A Complex Market Demanding Substantial Commitment

At the recent conference on Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Market & Patient Access in Latin America staged by NextLevel Pharma in Rio de Janeiro, Alessandro Cirrincione, Global Director, Pricing and Government Affairs, Vifor Pharma, discussed the unique character of the Brazilian market and addressed the challenges faced by marketers seeking to gain access to it with new products. Following the meeting, he spoke to Mick Maroney for PPR. Read more...

Germany: G-BA Perspectives on AMNOG

Speaking at the NextLevel Pharma Spring PharmAccess Leaders Forum in Paris in May 2014, Thomas Müller, head of the pharmaceuticals department at the Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss, G-BA), discussed the committee’s experience to date with AMNOG – the pharmaceutical market restructuring law which radically altered pricing and reimbursement decision making in Germany. Andrea Paterson was there for PPR. Read more...

Latin America: Early Days in Access for Orphan Drugs

At the Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Market & Patient Access in Latin America conference staged by NextLevel Pharma in Rio de Janeiro in August 2014, Sandeep Duttagupta, Vice President, CBPartners, discussed the challenges faced by marketers of orphan drugs in the region. Following the meeting, Mick Maroney spoke with him for PPR. Read more...

Regional Discount Agreements in Sweden: A Legal Minefield

Regional governments in Sweden are increasingly looking to leverage their purchasing power in order to secure discounts and rebates on the list prices of branded drugs. However, as noted by Elisabeth Eklund, partner at leading commercial law firm Delphi, such agreements risk running foul of both Swedish and European Union (EU) law. Following her presentation at the recent Nordic Market & Patient Access Forum, staged by NextLevel Pharma in Stockholm, Eoin Jennings spoke with her for PPR. Read more...

Interview – Beata Niechoda, Australian Pharmaceutical Physicians Association – Medical Affairs Leaders Forum Asia 2014

The APAC is a dynamically growing and fast evolving region. Some of the challenges of working in the region include: fast evolving, diverse regulatory and legislative frameworks, diverse approaches to compliance and implementation of international benchmarks. Technological advances such as provision of knowledge and information in a virtual way may not always be possible in all jurisdictions. Read more...

Antimicrobials: resistant to pharma investment?

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a spreading phenomenon that threatens to increase healthcare expenditure as previously treatable infections become significant sources of morbidity. Despite this looming crisis, the pipeline of antimicrobial drugs has dwindled greatly in recent years as low prices and the reservation of new products for later lines of therapy reduce the commercial return on investment in this area. Read more...

Bulgaria: Drug Policy in Need of Reconsideration

At the Russian & CEE Pharma Market Access Summit, staged by NextLevel Pharma in Vienna earlier in 2013, Maria Prohaska, director of the Bulgarian Centre for Economic Development, discussed the development of the healthcare system in Bulgaria, including the management of pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement. According to Prohaska, the authorities should reconsider their policy on drug supply, in order to meet the healthcare needs of the population. Following the meeting, Mick Maroney spoke with her for PPR. Read more...

PharmAccess Leaders Forum 2013 – Conference Highlights

Datamonitor Healthcare attended NextLevel Pharma’s PharmAccess Leaders Forum that took place in Berlin on 16–18 October at which executives from the pharmaceutical industry as well as several EU payers and health technology assessment (HTA) agency representatives discussed the current challenges in achieving sustainable access to medicines in Europe. Read more...

Croatia: Pricing and Reimbursement in a New EU Market

At the recent Russian & CEE Pharma Market Access Summit, staged by NextLevel Pharma in Vienna, Vanesa Benkovic, senior health technology assessment & research director with the Croatian Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Health Economics, discussed the pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement system in Croatia – a market attracting considerable attention, as it prepares to join the European Union (EU) in July 2013. Following the meeting, she spoke with PPR’s Mick Maroney. Read more...

Asia and the Medical Affairs Function

Regardless of company size, establishing operations to support expansions in new territories has a big impact on existing organizational structures.  The question often rests on how the subsidiary will be connected to the headquarters. Will it be a centralized or decentralized operation? How independent does this operation need to be based on distance, time zone, cultural aspects, size and/or budget? Mix these factors, in addition to regional capabilities, and headaches will result for even the most experienced executives. Read more...

Germany: Industry and Payer Perspectives on AMNOG’s Impact on Pricing

At the NextLevel Pharma conference, Initial Experiences with German AMNOG Pricing and Reimbursement Reform, staged in Berlin in late November 2012, a range of industry and payer representatives offered perspectives on the impact of the pharmaceutical sector restructuring law (Arzneimittelmarktneuordnungsgesetz, AMNOG) early benefit assessment (EBA) process on the pricing of innovative new products in Europe’s leading pharmaceutical market. Mick Maroney reports. Read more...

Evidence and Endpoints in Cancer: Can Both Payers and Regulators be Satisfied?

How can oncology drug developers design their trials to satisfy both regulators and payers, and thereby maximize both access and commercial success? It’s an increasingly urgent question as cancer programs continue to dominate pipelines, and drugs bills. Yet “there’s a fundamental tension” between the clear evidentiary base required to get a drug approved, and the emerging, sometimes inconsistent data sought by payers to justify funding that drug, notes Roy Baynes, SVP Oncology Therapeutics at Gilead Sciences Inc. Read more...

Russian & CEE Pharma Market Access

From 11th-12th March 2013, NextLevel Pharma organised Russian & CEE Pharma Market Access Summit in Vienna, Austria. The main conference topics were challenges in communicating value for high-cost medicines in regional health systems. Lecturers from different health and pharmaceutical sectors gave their perspective from the point of view of government institutions, payers, drug producers, patient organisations and independent pharmaceutical professionals. Read more...

HTA Has To Harmonize. It’s A Money Thing.

There was bad news and some less bad news for drug firms at the recent Pharmaccess Leaders’ Forum in Berlin, Germany. The bad news: added-benefit hurdles, in the form of Health Technology Assessments, continue to spread fast as a (mostly) scientific tool for politicians to control access to new drugs. The less bad news: efforts to drive convergence between different countries’ HTA methods are showing signs of success. That may at least help pharma get a grip on how to navigate HTA. Read more...

Want Better Access? Then Take Some More Risk

Biopharma is an industry seeped in an above-average concentration of risk. Scientific, clinical and regulatory uncertainties add to more typical commercial and market-driven risks. Given that, you’d think pharma execs would be a little more willing to stick their necks out and embrace (or at least explore) change. Read more...