New medications are a critical component of health care.
If patients are to have access to these innovative medicines, the products must be launched in a timely manner, bought and sold at a reasonable price, and reimbursed at the appropriate level. Two new studies by Europe Economics, a research organization in London, conclude that these delays are a direct result of national procedures that determine the pricing and reimbursement levels for every new drug. As a result, several EU countries deny their residents the benefits of new treatments that already are available to the citizens of other EU member states. In most European countries, pharmaceutical companies must obtain pricing and reimbursement approvals from national governments before they can launch new medicines onto the market. The studies by Europe Economics found that delays occurred in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Portugal, and Greece.