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'Medication at fair prices' legal proposal received in Parliament
26/06/2019
A 'PEOPLE'S Legislation Initiative' seeks to overhaul the pricing system for prescription and over-the-counter medications to ensure these are fair and affordable at all times.
A total of 19 associations campaigning for transparency in negotiations between pharmaceutical companies and the State filed the proposal, an ILP, in Parliament yesterday (Tuesday) as a 'first step' towards 'changing the rules of the game'.
In their press conference, the associations said 'many' pharmaceutical companies 'are lacking in ethics' when it comes to putting prices on the drugs they produce, leading to 'indiscriminate increases'.
This can lead to drugs being too expensive, or even not made available at all if they would cost the government too much.
In Spain, it is rare for the latter to happen, meaning the health authorities bear great expense to ensure availability when it should be the manufacturers who are prepared to sacrifice some profit in the name of social responsibility, the associations involved say.
One of the associations is the Hepatitis C Patients' Society, which says the cost of researching, testing and manufacturing drugs is 'very well-documented', but that the process of negotiations between the creators and the government remains largely behind closed doors.
A new, latest-generation drug to treat Hepatitis C has been developed following an investment of €900 million in research and manufacturing – figures revealed by the Senate in the USA – but which, given to each and every patient who needs it over the course of the 20-year patent, would cost €300 per box.
“In Spain, we've paid an average of €20,000 per treatment, we've spent €2 billion on treating 100,000 patients, which does not make sense,” says Fernand Lamata of the Association for Fair Access to Medication (AAJM).
Vanessa López of the group Salud por Derecho ('Health as a Right') says the ILP 'establishes very clearly what should be the paradigm which organisations consider most suitable for achieving fairer prices' and, at the same time, 'recognising the investments made by the various parties' and for these parties to be given 'sufficient incentive' to enable them to 'remain interested' in researching and developing the drugs.
“But the key is to do so ensuring a reasonable profit for companies and an affordable price for the health service,” she argues.
The ILP proposal also calls for pharmaceutical research to be public rather than private-sector, and for health professionals to receive 'independent' training funded by a central pot, to 'prevent conflicts of interest', whilst 'improving research and development', 'guaranteeing access to a suitable prescription', and 'reducing unnecessary negative effects' of medications.
Chairwoman of the State Council for Medical Students (CEEM), Laura Martínez, says she is 'very concerned' that continuing professional development for those in the health industry is 'highly-dependent' upon conferences and publications run or produced by the pharmaceutical industry.
This includes research commissioned by pharmaceutical companies, and the unlikelihood of research in conflict with these manufacturers ever seeing the light of day – an issue that does not just affect Spain, but is worldwide and known about by many professionals in different branches of medicine.
“This can cause bias in prescription with an overuse of certain drugs, and create conflict of interest,” Laura Martínez says.
Once the ILP is formally logged as having been received, Parliament will need to decide whether or not to accept it for discussion and, if it does so, the parties which proposed it have a deadline of nine months to obtain 500,000 signatures in favour of it.
At 500,000 or more signatures, Parliament is required by law to debate the proposal.
Related Topics
A 'PEOPLE'S Legislation Initiative' seeks to overhaul the pricing system for prescription and over-the-counter medications to ensure these are fair and affordable at all times.
A total of 19 associations campaigning for transparency in negotiations between pharmaceutical companies and the State filed the proposal, an ILP, in Parliament yesterday (Tuesday) as a 'first step' towards 'changing the rules of the game'.
In their press conference, the associations said 'many' pharmaceutical companies 'are lacking in ethics' when it comes to putting prices on the drugs they produce, leading to 'indiscriminate increases'.
This can lead to drugs being too expensive, or even not made available at all if they would cost the government too much.
In Spain, it is rare for the latter to happen, meaning the health authorities bear great expense to ensure availability when it should be the manufacturers who are prepared to sacrifice some profit in the name of social responsibility, the associations involved say.
One of the associations is the Hepatitis C Patients' Society, which says the cost of researching, testing and manufacturing drugs is 'very well-documented', but that the process of negotiations between the creators and the government remains largely behind closed doors.
A new, latest-generation drug to treat Hepatitis C has been developed following an investment of €900 million in research and manufacturing – figures revealed by the Senate in the USA – but which, given to each and every patient who needs it over the course of the 20-year patent, would cost €300 per box.
“In Spain, we've paid an average of €20,000 per treatment, we've spent €2 billion on treating 100,000 patients, which does not make sense,” says Fernand Lamata of the Association for Fair Access to Medication (AAJM).
Vanessa López of the group Salud por Derecho ('Health as a Right') says the ILP 'establishes very clearly what should be the paradigm which organisations consider most suitable for achieving fairer prices' and, at the same time, 'recognising the investments made by the various parties' and for these parties to be given 'sufficient incentive' to enable them to 'remain interested' in researching and developing the drugs.
“But the key is to do so ensuring a reasonable profit for companies and an affordable price for the health service,” she argues.
The ILP proposal also calls for pharmaceutical research to be public rather than private-sector, and for health professionals to receive 'independent' training funded by a central pot, to 'prevent conflicts of interest', whilst 'improving research and development', 'guaranteeing access to a suitable prescription', and 'reducing unnecessary negative effects' of medications.
Chairwoman of the State Council for Medical Students (CEEM), Laura Martínez, says she is 'very concerned' that continuing professional development for those in the health industry is 'highly-dependent' upon conferences and publications run or produced by the pharmaceutical industry.
This includes research commissioned by pharmaceutical companies, and the unlikelihood of research in conflict with these manufacturers ever seeing the light of day – an issue that does not just affect Spain, but is worldwide and known about by many professionals in different branches of medicine.
“This can cause bias in prescription with an overuse of certain drugs, and create conflict of interest,” Laura Martínez says.
Once the ILP is formally logged as having been received, Parliament will need to decide whether or not to accept it for discussion and, if it does so, the parties which proposed it have a deadline of nine months to obtain 500,000 signatures in favour of it.
At 500,000 or more signatures, Parliament is required by law to debate the proposal.
Related Topics
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