Access to Medicines
Why should you care about medicines policy, and what needs to be done?
Because of ageing populations, budgetary constraints and rising healthcare costs – not helped by inefficiency and waste in the system – European healthcare faces unprecedented and growing pressures; pressures that are already threatening the viability of the European healthcare system. Something must be done to safeguard European citizens’ access to healthcare.
Why would you not use generic medicines, biosimilar medicines or value-added medicines?
There is a very simple and obvious way to reduce pressure on healthcare budgets and help ensure the sustainability of European healthcare: increase the uptake of generic, biosimilar and value added medicines. They already massively increase access to medicines (or have the potential to do so) without raising overall treatment costs, and can play a much greater role in improving treatments and health outcomes. Everybody knows there are very significant opportunities to switch from high priced branded medicines with equally effective but much lower cost generic, biosimilar or value added medicines: so why don’t we do it?
The Access to Medicines project aims to make the case for ensuring the sustainability of European healthcare systems, and a common-sense approach to make use of the opportunity that generic, biosimilar and value added medicines do and can bring.
Access to Medicines
Because of austerity measures and weak growth, our ageing populations and rising healthcare costs due to new, expensive treatments, European healthcare faces unprecedented and growing pressures. To successfully address this challenge policy makers must recognise the fundamental importance and potential of generic, biosimilar and value-added medicines in ensuring the sustainability of European healthcare and enabling more patients to access treatment (up to 100% more/doubled access). So policy makers should face the reality that there is a cost of inaction in terms of undermining access to health.
OPEN INFOGRAPHIC
ANIMATED GIF: EUROPE’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS FACE MAJOR CHALLENGES
ANIMATED GIF: GENERIC, BIOSIMILAR AND VALUE ADDED MEDICINES
ANIMATED GIF: GOVERNMENTS SHOULD ACT ON ACCESS TO MEDICINES
Access to Medicines
Healthcare systems are under intense pressure to do more with less. The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have already underlined the importance and potential of generic medicines in increasing access to healthcare and ensuring the sustainability of European healthcare systems. Twice as many patients were able to be treated with no increase in the drugs bill thanks to competition from generic medicines. Without generic medicines this access would have cost an extra €100 BN every year.
OPEN INFOGRAPHIC
ANIMATED GIF: GROWING PRESSURE ON HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS
ANIMATED GIF: POLICYMAKERS FACE DIFFICULT AND UNPOPULAR CHOICES
ANIMATED GIF: GENERIC MEDICINES MAKE HEALTHCARE SUSTAINABLE
Access to Medicines
The understandable desire to reduce cost must be balanced against the need to ensure the economic viability of the industry. Without a fair and sustainable policy and regulatory environment, the industry will not be able to invest and continue to expand our generic products portfolio (62% of medicines dispensed in EU are generic medicines) offering improved patient access.
OPEN INFOGRAPHIC
ANIMATED GIF: REASONS WHY: A VITAL INDUSTRY FOR HEALTH
ANIMATED GIF: THE GENERIC MEDICINES INDUSTRY NEEDS PREDICTABILITY
ANIMATED GIF: WHAT ARE THE RISKS CAUSED BY GOVERNMENT PRICE PRESSURE ON GENERIC MEDICINE MANUFACTURERS?
ANIMATED GIF: MEASURES TO PREVENT MEDICINE SHORTAGES
Access to Medicines
Biosimilar medicines increase access by offering high quality, budget friendly equivalent treatment. More and more biosimilars are coming onto the market – healthcare providers and insurers should do much more to ensure they are taken up by health systems as a way to increase access, which can be more than doubled with the use of biosimilar medicines.
OPEN INFOGRAPHIC
ANIMATED GIF: WHAT CHRONIC AND ACUTE CONDITIONS ARE TREATED BY BIOSIMILAR MEDICINES?
ANIMATED GIF: BIOSIMILAR MEDICINES: EQUIVALENT TREATMENT OPTIONS
ANIMATED GIF: HOW CAN WE REALISE THE BIOSIMILAR MEDICINES POTENTIAL?
Access to Medicines
Policy makers need to better understand the effective role that value added medicines could play in improving health outcomes. Value added medicines apply new insights and technology on known molecules and better options to improve the efficiency of care through drug repositioning, drug reformulation or drug combination. Through innovation we can improve patient access.
OPEN INFOGRAPHIC
ANIMATED GIF: HOW CAN VALUE ADDED MEDICINES MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
ANIMATED GIF: WHAT ARE THE THERAPY AREAS COVERED BY VALUE ADDED MEDICINES?
ANIMATED GIF: 6 REASONS WHY VALUE ADDED MEDICINES ARE IMPORTANT
ANIMATED GIF: 4 WAYS TO PRODUCE VALUE ADDED MEDICINES
ANIMATED GIF: VALUE ADDED MEDICINES ENCOMPASS A WIDER VARIETY OF HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS
Access to Medicines
Generic medicines provide an outstanding opportunity to increase access to essential, safe and effective medicines while ensuring the sustainability of healthcare systems. Many countries have succeeded in achieving very high rates of generic penetration – but others have not. Growth in market share of generics could increase access to healthcare for citizens. Generic medicines only represent around 4% of the healthcare budget but help treat 80% of patients.
OPEN INFOGRAPHIC
ANIMATED GIF: GENERIC MEDICINES CAN HELP TACKLE THE HEALTHCARE PRESSURE COMING FROM HIGH PRICE MEDICINES
ANIMATED GIF: SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY OF GENERIC MEDICINES
ANIMATED GIF: 5 SIMPLE SOLUTIONS FOR HEALTHCARE EFFICIENCY
Access to Medicines
To block competition, a lot of unwarranted fears have been put forward regarding generic and biosimilar medicines. In a heavily regulated market such as Europe, generic and biosimilar medicines on the market are just as safe and effective as branded drugs. In fact, European pharmacovigilance data and post-market clinical data fully confirm this. Clearly more information and education is needed about the benefits of these medicines.
OPEN INFOGRAPHIC
ANIMATED GIF: SAFETY, QUALITY AND EFFICACY – NOTHING ELSE MATTERS?
ANIMATED GIF: EVIDENCE MATTERS!
ANIMATED GIF: WHAT POLICYMAKERS SHOULD DO TO MAKE HEALTHCARE MORE COST EFFICIENT?