2023-12-18 17:04:45
Extension of the price regulation for biosimilars as an interim goal
Vienna (OTS) – The National Council decided – just in time before the deadline – to extend the price regulation for biosimilars (successor products to complex biological drugs) for the next two years. By extending the price rule, security of supply for patients was guaranteed for the near future and further savings were made possible for the healthcare system.
Permanent law brings security of supply
The Austrian Biosimilars Association has been campaigning for years to establish the regulation, which has been in force since April 2017, permanently instead of just extending it for two years. “Through intensive educational work, we were able to obtain an extension of the price regulation for two years, but that is only an interim goal for us. We need a long-term and safe solution for supplying Austrian patients with the modern and highly effective therapies that biosimilars offer,” demands Dr. Sabine Möritz-Kaisergruber, President of the Austrian Biosimilars Association.
“Planning security and healthy market conditions have a direct impact on the security of supply of medicines in Austria,” explains Möritz-Kaisergruber, explaining her commitment to converting the price regulation into permanent law: “If the price and reimbursement rules for biosimilars are in force for an unlimited period of time, companies will have the opportunity to deal more effectively with the given conditions and to create long-term plans. This means greater scope for competition for biosimilars in the Austrian healthcare market and savings for our healthcare system. This is the only way to make a variety of highly effective, cheaper biosimilars available to patients.
Extension of the biosimilars price rule every two years, an Austrian solution
Since April 2017, biosimilars in Austria have been given their own legal status and their own reimbursement price regulation for the first time through a change in the General Social Insurance Act, which has now been extended once again by two years. This regulates the reimbursement of biosimilars and the corresponding reference product. The pricing regulation has had a positive impact on the availability of new biosimilars. Since their introduction, 25 biosimilars have been included in the reimbursement code almost simultaneously with other European countries and have enabled savings of EUR 818 million in the years from 2017 to 2022 alone. Before that, hardly any biosimilars came onto the Austrian market. The extension will expire again at the end of 2025.
Biosimilars enable savings
Biosimilars are advanced follow-on biologics that play a crucial and future-oriented role in our healthcare system. They can reduce treatment costs by more than 50% for expensive therapies in areas such as cancer, rheumatism, inflammatory bowel disease and skin diseases. Increased use of these high-quality medications helps to reduce the burden on the health budget efficiently and financially in a sustainable manner. A consumption study commissioned by the Biosimilars Association predicts savings of approximately EUR 330 million for the period from 2023 to 2027 if the potential of biosimilars in the Austrian healthcare market can be fully exploited.
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