The new pricing policy initiated by the USA to reduce drug prices may open the door to an unexpected crisis in Europe. According to the research published in Lancet, pharmaceutical companies may introduce new treatments to the European market later to prevent low prices in Europe from being reflected in the USA. In the research, 195 patented drugs, which are subject to annual expenditure of 87.9 billion dollars, were examined and it was calculated that the price loss that companies may experience in the USA for approximately three out of every four drugs may be higher than the total sales revenue in the reference countries.
THERE MAY BE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES
The risk is not just theoretical. It is noteworthy that new drug launches have decreased by approximately 35 percent in EU countries recently. Although researchers state that it is too early to attribute all of this decline directly to US policy, the industry warns that the entry of new drugs into the market may be delayed, especially in European countries that apply low prices. The biggest concern is delays in the treatment of cancer, rare diseases and progressive chronic diseases. Even the arrival of some new drugs on the market a few months late can have serious consequences for patient groups for whom treatment options are limited.
USA’S PLAN
In the USA, the system is intended to have the opposite effect. The Trump administration is planning to bring American drug prices closer to the levels of other developed countries with the “most favored nation” model. According to US administration calculations, the new pricing program could save states $27.6 billion and the federal government $36.6 billion over the next 10 years. But for Europe, the equation is more complex. Companies may delay new drugs in low-price markets, charge higher prices, or forgo launches altogether in some countries. In such a situation, healthcare systems may be faced with two options: Paying higher prices for rapid access to new treatments or delaying patients’ access to medicines.
