2023-09-21 04:49:00
Our preliminary: the complete investigation can be found in the Moustique magazine this Wednesday, September 20!
According to the “updated list of medicines under contract/current agreement” that we consulted, 122 products were the subject of a secret deal between a firm and the Minister of Social Affairs as of July 26, 2023. As a reminder, the possibility of negotiating such agreements was created in 2011 to enable the pharmaceutical industry to quickly launch innovative medicines on the market for which therapeutic uncertainties persist. However, as revealed by our investigation accessible on our site and in Moustique magazine, this system is also used to inflate the industry’s excess profits.
If the medicines under contract are sold too expensively in Belgium, this does not mean that they are useless. Generally innovative, they are used on the contrary once morest cancers (Alecensa, Calquence), skin diseases (Adtralza, Cibingo), migraines (Aimovig, Ajovy), muscular astrophies (Zolgensma, Spinraza) or even hepatitis C ( Sovaldi). From Novartis to Pfizer, Janssen and Leo Pharma, the majority of companies request secret contracts.
The 2021 record
Among the 122 agreements in progress, 14 were granted in 2022. 11 this year before July 26, 2023. Many contracts can still be signed in the second half of the year, but we should remain below the figures for 2021. That year, 51 were validated by the Minister of Social Affairs. In total, more than 300 deals have been completed in 13 years.
How to explain the loss of speed in 2022? Health economist Philippe Van Wilder (ULB) puts forward two hypotheses. Firstly, the year 2021 would have been less innovative and this is felt in the requests for 2022. Secondly, more and more, firms would make grouped requests. For example, if a drug treats two forms of cancer, the company may request a single contract or one contract per indication. The expert, however, predicts a catch-up in 2023 and 2024. “Because in general, all Class 1 and orphan drugs are the subject of convention requests. On average, this concerns 45 products per year.”
Finally, Philippe Van Wilder draws our attention to the number of requests, including refusals, because they demonstrate enthusiasm for the contract system. Between 2011 and 2021, the latest official figures from Inami, 466 requests for agreements were made by the pharmaceutical industry. By adding those for 2022 and 2023, half a thousand files should have been reached.
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