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Patents increase drug costs burden more and more patients
Drug costs in Germany rose to a new record last year. This is due in particular to patented medicines, which cause enormous additional costs. The German market is according to experts "particularly expensive".
Spending on drugs has been rising for years
Drug expenditure in Germany has increased significantly in recent years. Although it has been reported for some time that doctors prescribe more and more drugs, but this is not the main reason for the cost increase. Rather, it is due to patented drugs that cost many times over.
Spending on drugs has never been as high in Germany as it was last year. The main reason for this are patented drugs, which entail enormous additional costs. (Image: Andrzej Tokarski / fotolia.com) Another record is reached
"Drug expenditure in statutory health insurance (SHI) rose again in 2015, reaching a new high of € 37.0 billion," states a statement from the AOK's Scientific Institute. This development represents an increase of 4.3 percent over the previous year. The market analysis of the Drug Disposal Report 2016 shows how such an increase in expenditure can be achieved.
"Firstly, changed forms of administration and the regulation of generally larger pack sizes increase sales," writes the institute. And: "Secondly, the significant part of the increase in sales is due to the high costs, especially for patent medicines. Above all, new drugs are coming to market at ever higher prices. "
Enormous overspending on patented medicines
According to the new prescription of medicinal products on behalf of the AOK Federal Association, the expenditure for patented medicines in 2015 amounted to a total of 14.9 billion euros. Compared to the previous year, this was an additional cost of 1.3 billion euros. Although the editors of the report also called effective cost brakes such as the early benefit assessment, by means of which the benefits of a drug is determined, called.
"But this amount could have been significantly higher if the Amnog had not been softened in many places," criticized the editor of the report, Ulrich Schwabe, according to a message from news agency AFP. Amnog upholds the Pharmaceutical Market Reform Act 2011.
Costs for this policy are passed on to patients
The expert criticized, among other things, the abolition of inventory market valuation, which had evaluated drugs that have been on the market for a long time. According to Schwabe, Germany is still a high-price country for pharmaceuticals. "The cost of this policy will be passed on to German patients."
For example, the average pharmacy sales price for a patented drug in 2015 was around 369 euros, an average of almost 13 times higher than generic medicines, which cost around 29 euros. Generics are counterfeit medicines that are already on the market and contain the same active ingredients.
The German market proves to be particularly expensive
Even in European comparison, the German market proves to be "particularly expensive," said Jürgen Klauber, CEO of the Scientific Institute of AOK, according to AFP. He referred to scientific studies that put the theoretical savings potential at 3.2 billion euros.
Professionals, in particular, are seeing a steady increase in costs for cancer drugs. "The development of new cancer therapies often focuses on the economic interests of pharmaceutical companies," says Wolf-Dieter Ludwig, chairman of the Drug Commission of the German Medical Association. In his opinion, clinical studies are geared more to rapid approval rather than convincing therapeutic progress.
The chief executive officer of the AOK Federal Association, Martin Litsch, also accused the government of incapacity to act. "For the high-price development of the patent-protected medicines there is currently no adequate antidote for the policy," said the expert. (Ad)