Roche Holding's CEO Severin Schwan praised Germany for giving
patients speedy access to critical new medicines without stopping to
haggle over prices, signaling that he isn't bracing for a dispute as he
prepares to introduce two new treatments with blockbuster potential.
Other drugmakers are less sanguine: Denmark's Novo Nordisk in January withdrew its newest insulin Tresiba from Germany after price negotiations that would be the basis for rebates and discounts offered to state-run health insurers fell through.
Both sides are watching closely as the nation now prepares to tighten rules further, following a public outcry over Gilead Sciences's breakthrough hepatitis C medicine Sovaldi in 2014. The treatment made more than $10-billion in its first year for Gilead, though its price incensed health authorities and payers. The health ministry laid out plans this month for new legislation that would cap reimbursements for drugs in the first year.
"There is a lot of emphasis on making innovative medicines available to patients immediately" in the European nation, Schwan said in an interview on Tuesday. "I am absolutely sure we'll find ways to make those medicines available to patients in Germany, irrespective of the ongoing discussion about the system overall."
Drugmakers are free in Germany to choose the price of a new prescription drug that is patent-protected for an initial period that typically lasts a year. Public insurers, who cover some 90% of the population, pick up the cost.
During that time, a drug assessment body- the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health - determines whether the new product is better than existing ones. Using that recommendation, the Federal Joint Committee then makes a decision on reimbursements and discounts given to the insurers.
Other drugmakers are less sanguine: Denmark's Novo Nordisk in January withdrew its newest insulin Tresiba from Germany after price negotiations that would be the basis for rebates and discounts offered to state-run health insurers fell through.
Both sides are watching closely as the nation now prepares to tighten rules further, following a public outcry over Gilead Sciences's breakthrough hepatitis C medicine Sovaldi in 2014. The treatment made more than $10-billion in its first year for Gilead, though its price incensed health authorities and payers. The health ministry laid out plans this month for new legislation that would cap reimbursements for drugs in the first year.
"There is a lot of emphasis on making innovative medicines available to patients immediately" in the European nation, Schwan said in an interview on Tuesday. "I am absolutely sure we'll find ways to make those medicines available to patients in Germany, irrespective of the ongoing discussion about the system overall."
Drugmakers are free in Germany to choose the price of a new prescription drug that is patent-protected for an initial period that typically lasts a year. Public insurers, who cover some 90% of the population, pick up the cost.
During that time, a drug assessment body- the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health - determines whether the new product is better than existing ones. Using that recommendation, the Federal Joint Committee then makes a decision on reimbursements and discounts given to the insurers.
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