Access to new medicines in Europe: technical review of policy initiatives and opportunities for collaboration and research (2015)

2015

This report, with a focus on sustainable access to new medicines, reviews policies that affect medicines throughout their lifecycle (from research and development to disinvestment), examining the current evidence base across Europe.

While many European countries have not traditionally required active priority-setting for  access to medicines, appraising new medicines using pharmacoeconomics is increasingly seen as critical in order to improve efficiency in spending while maintaining an appropriate balance between access and cost–effectiveness.

The study features findings from 27 countries and explores different ways that health authorities in European countries are dealing with high spending on new medicines, including methods such as restrictive treatment guidelines, target levels for use of generics, and limitations on the use of particularly expensive drugs. It also outlines possible policy directions and choices that may help governments to reduce high prices when introducing new drugs.