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Abstract
Transferability of current evidence and expressing value of innovative pharmaceuticals according to health system objectives
Due to the scarcity of healthcare resources, decision-makers often expect monetary benefits – including cost savings or productivity gain – from innovative medicines. Manufacturers try to fulfill this expectation by expressing the benefits of innovative technologies in monetary units citing approaches from the scientific literature. Unfortunately, currently available evidence has limited relevance and transferability in Central–Eastern European (CEE) countries. This study aims to summarize how innovative pharmaceuticals in CEE countries may contribute to WHO-defined health system objectives, including health gain, equity in health, financial protection, responsiveness, equity in finance and financial sustainability. References in this study are also mainly based on international examples; therefore, additional policy research from CEE countries is necessary to validate assumptions. If CEE politicians can rely on credible arguments based on local research evidence, they may improve long-term strategies and policy decisions related to healthcare innovation.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
Syreon Research Institute gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Hungarian Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Manufacturers to review the benefits of new healthcare technologies in CEE countries. Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, however, had no influence on the review process, nor were they involved in writing the manuscript. The authors summarized their independent professional opinions and take full responsibility for potential errors in the manuscript. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Key issues
Decision-makers often expect monetary benefits – including cost savings or productivity gain – from innovative health technologies
Manufacturers try to fulfill this expectation by expressing the benefits of innovative medicines in monetary units citing approaches from the scientific literature.
Currently available evidence has limited relevance and transferability in Central–Eastern European (CEE) countries; therefore, reference to nonvalidated economic value propositions may undermine the credibility of stakeholders from the pharmaceutical industry.
This study aims to summarize how innovative medicines in CEE countries may contribute to WHO-defined health system objectives including health gain, equity in health, financial protection, responsiveness, equity in finance and financial sustainability
In the long term, innovation is a prerequisite of effective low-cost pharmaceutical therapies and therefore, it may contribute to the sustainability of healthcare financing and may improve the equity in healthcare
The lack of a balanced policy approach in the accessibility of innovative technologies in CEE has negative impact on political sustainability
If CEE politicians can rely on credible arguments based on local research evidence, then they may improve long-term strategies and policy decisions related to pharmaceutical innovation.
Additional policy research from CEE countries is necessary to validate assumptions and hypotheses on the value of innovative pharmaceuticals. Real-world evidence based on analyses from payers’ databases in different CEE countries can increase the validity of value propositions of new medicines in this region and the transferability of evidence from other countries to CEE.