Archive for November, 2008

EU probe finds companies block cheap drugs

By Nikki Tait in Brussels
Published: November 28 2008
Drug companies have blocked or delayed the market entry of cheaper generic medicines to Europe, adding billions to the cost of medicines to patients, a high-profile report from Brussels has found. Anti-competitive practices range from initiating dispute and litigation to hold up competing products, and filing multiple patent [...]

Deal reached on NHS drug prices

Submitted by THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG
from BBC news
Drug costs will fall under the plan
The government and the drugs industry have struck a deal which could save the NHS in the UK up to £550m per year. A flexible pricing scheme will mean new drugs can be initially introduced at a lower price, which could be [...]

Racing down the pyramid

Submitted by THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG
Nov 13th 2008 | NEW YORK
From The Economist print edition
Big drugmakers’ love affair with America is coming to an end
FOR many years America has been the heart and soul of the pharmaceuticals business. The adoption of price controls and government-run health systems in Europe, where the industry began, led many [...]

ISPOR Athens 2008 re-cap

Submitted by THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG
Hello everyone,
back from 14 days of travel I thought I put together a short note on this year’s European ISPOR conference in Athens. Certainly the venue was so much better than last year, and the weather for early November couldn’t have been nicer, especially over the weekend. Needless to say [...]

Czech health ministry cuts prices of reimbursed medicines

Submitted by THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG
The Czech Republic’s health ministry has cut ex-manufacturer prices of around 3,000
reimbursed medicines, both original and generic. National legislation regulates prices of
reimbursed medicines only, while all other pharmaceuticals are entitled to free pricing.
Price changes followed an amendment of Act 48/1997 on public health insurance after a
long dispute over the poor [...]