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发帖数: 29846 | 1 Lilly CEO Calls for Higher Drug Prices in Europe .
By SHIRLEY S. WANG
BRUSSELS—European nations should pay more for new medicines, Eli Lilly &
Co. Chief Executive John Lechleiter said in an interview, warning that the
current low prices could pose a threat to innovation in the region.
Government funding for research and policies that encourage innovation don't
make up for the fact that drug companies cannot receive prices that reflect
the value that those medicines bring to patients, said Dr. Lechleiter. He
also noted the costs and risks associated with carrying out research and
development, which drug companies sometimes struggle to recoup through their
revenue.
Dr. Lechleiter's remarks came as industry and government leaders gathered in
European Parliament at a conference on scientific research and innovation
in the European Union. He said drug prices in Europe tend to be "lower to
much lower" than the same products in other developed countries, and at a "
substantial discount" compared with the U.S. He declined to give specific
figures because the prices differ between European nations.
Such pricing "sends the message that all this investment in research and all
this talk about innovation is at the end of the day not going to be
rewarded," he said. "This is an important signal; this is not esoteric."
In the 1970s, when Dr. Lechleiter, a chemist by training, joined the company
, over 50% of new drugs were developed in Europe and 30% in the U.S. Now, he
said, that figure has flipped.
"It begs the question: is that reversal, which is fairly pronounced in a
relatively short period of time, an indicator that investment is going and
research emphasis is shifting to jurisdictions, geographies in fact where
the risk will be rewarded?" said Dr. Lechleiter.
Other factors that affect pricing in Europe include the use of "reference
pricing"—the tendency for countries to peg their price to that of another
country—and uncertainty around the timing of countries' pricing decisions,
which can lag for a year after European regulatory authorities have approved
a drug.
With reference pricing, countries in effect end up matching the lowest price
offered by another nation, regardless of its similarity with that country
in terms of gross domestic product, purchasing power parity or "what it can
pay or should pay," said Dr. Lechleiter.
The European economic crisis has exacerbated the situation, as countries
that have implemented austerity measures, such as Italy, Spain and Greece,
have reduced drug prices. "We certainly can't have other countries who are
not so affected using those new lower prices for reference," he said.
Some industry and health experts have long questioned the high prices of
some branded drugs in the U.S. and questioned whether the U.S. is
subsidizing medical innovation and drug prices in the rest of the world.
Market forces work to change the prices of U.S. drugs, which "can't go up
forever" and in some cases have already started to come down, according to
Dr. Lechleiter.
Pricing battles recently led Lilly and its partner Boehringer Ingelheim to
decide against launching diabetes drug Trajenta in Germany—even though the
drug was developed in the country—because the government decided not to
reimburse Trajenta at a different rate to older drugs in the same class.
Lilly said its drug differentiated itself in clinical trials and should be
priced differently.
Dr. Lechleiter called the situation a "travesty" for patients but stood by
the decision. "Our position today is we don't intend to launch," he said. |
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