Insight into recent reforms and initiatives in Austria: implications for key stakeholders

Abstract

Pharmaceutical expenditure continued to rise steadily in Austria during the 1990s and early 2000s despite a variety of reforms. However, recent reforms and initiatives have moderated the growth rate. These initiatives include transparent pricing of new drugs and generics, greater restrictions on the prescribing of new drugs and voluntary price reductions. Alongside this, there have also been initiatives to enhance rational and efficient prescribing. The lack of published data makes it difficult to fully analyze the impact of individual reforms. In addition, some reforms have only recently been introduced. Despite this, implications can be drawn for key stakeholder groups in the future. This includes pharmaceutical companies continuing to need to demonstrate substantially added benefit for their new drug to command average European prices. Otherwise, premiums will be restricted to a maximum 10% above the price of current standards. In addition, companies will need to continue to lower the price of their brands in interchangeable classes as standards become available as generics. The alternative will be prescribing restrictions. Further reforms will be needed in Austria to meet government growth targets for pharmaceutical expenditure of only 3–4% per annum, while continuing to fund new innovative drugs and increased volumes with greater prevalence of chronic diseases. Possible future measures and their implications for key stakeholder groups will also be discussed.

Keywords::

• Austria
• generic
• pharmaceutical
• pharmacoeconomic
• pricing
• reform

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the help of Andrew Walker and Michael Barry with critiquing earlier versions of the paper, as well as the help of Susanne Führlinger (HVB) for reviewing the part on Medicines and Reason and Markus Asslaber (HVB) for providing prescribing data.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no 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. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.