New drugs usually without added value

New medicines often have no more benefit

01/06/2013

The number of approved drugs in Germany is constantly increasing. A recently published report of the Techniker Krankenkasse comes to the conclusion that no clear added benefit emanates from most of these drugs.

New drug more expensive than previous ones
Unfortunately, the days when newly launched medicines were revolutionary for the treatment of sick people are long gone. New drugs such as insulin, the first antibiotics or drugs for cancer chemotherapy were also so valuable because there were usually no comparable funds until their development. The pharmaceutical industry seems to be far away from medical quantum leaps. Of the 23 compounds launched in 2010 and 2011, only one had a clear added value compared to conventional treatments. This is the conclusion of the new innovation report of Techniker Krankenkasse. Eight medicines had a little more benefit and the remaining 14 medicines had no extra effect. The health economist and head of the study, Gerd Glaeske, said: „We have an innovation crisis.“ Only the heart remedy Brilique has therefore provided a clear added benefit, since it can reduce the risk of heart attack. What's annoying is that the new funds for contributors and health insurers are a costly affair, although many of them have proved to be a flop. According to TK, three out of four drugs were more expensive than previous drugs. Also a medicine report of the Barmer noted that approximately 40 per cent of new means „provide no additional benefit to the patient“ and only cause higher expenses. TK CEO Jens Baas spoke of 145 million euros in spending on new medicines. He says that "even without consequences for the patients, one can save 68 million euros with conventional medicines.

Savings by the Pharmaceutical Market Reorganization Act
The results again highlight the benefits of the AMNOG, which the Black and Yellow Coalition adopted more than two years ago. In the time before this law, pharmaceutical companies could in principle charge for new funds what they wanted and the coffers had to pay. The medications mentioned in the TK-Report are partly from the time before AMNOG. Pharmaceutical manufacturers have since the entry into force of the law to demonstrate added value of their new preparations before they can negotiate with the funds about the reimbursement. An example of added benefit would be an extended lifetime that can be achieved by the agent. Only with such added value can pharmaceutical companies expect additional profits. First effects are already recognizable by this cost brake. Insurers were able to save 120 million euros according to estimates of the health insurance association. The government hopes to save up to two billion euros a year with the AMNOG.

Criticism of pharmaceutical industry and pharmacists
The pharmaceutical industry is not satisfied with the AMNOG. The chief executive of the pharmaceutical manufacturers' association VFA, Birgit Fischer, criticizes innovations „simply punished“. The pharmaceutical lobby is threatening billions of dollars in losses and so the anger of the industry is obvious. Criticism also came shortly after the entry into force of the law of the German Pharmacists Association, DAV. At that time, its chairman Fritz Becker said: „Because the coffers keep their contracts a secret, the lack of transparency we have been criticizing for a long time now turns into chaos in the long term. Once again, the bureaucratic insanity must drain the patients and the pharmacies.“ (Sb)

Picture credits: Andrea Damm