Deputy Minister Miłkowski about the upcoming reimbursement list. “There will be news”
From this year, new lists of reimbursed drugs will appear not every two, but every three months. The next list is planned for April, but at the beginning of March it will be known what new items will be on it. Deputy Minister Maciej Miłkowski announces that new therapies can be expected on each list this year. In terms of drug policy, this may be a good year for patients.
Deputy Minister Miłkowski took part in debates organized on the occasion of the World Day of the Sick by the Institute of Patient Rights and Health Education, during which, among other things, he answered questions from patient organizations. He also talked to journalists. He did not want to reveal yet what new therapies may be included on the new April list of reimbursed drugs – work on it is still in progress.
– Talks with pharmaceutical companies are still ongoing; February is dedicated to negotiations. There will definitely be new drugs on the lists, I think they will not be 1-2 new therapies, but more, just like last year – he noted during an interview with Wprost.
Rare diseases and oncology
When asked about new drugs for rare diseases, he pointed out the enormous change that has taken place in recent years. – Many new drugs have been made available to patients for ultra-rare diseases. Recently, I met with Infarma, representatives of innovative pharmaceutical companies, who emphasized that today Poland is perceived differently than a few years ago: in the case of rare diseases, it is noticeable that many proceedings end with positive decisions. I think that in a few years we will have full coverage of all effective therapies for rare diseases, said Deputy Minister Miłkowski.
He pointed out that in many cases positive decisions are made by the Ministry of Health, even despite the negative opinion of the president of AOTMiT, which is possible thanks to often difficult but effective negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. – It is too early to say which drugs will be on the upcoming lists, but I hope that a positive decision will be made, including: in amyloidosis; maybe it won’t be on the next list yet, but on the next one, but we hope it will work out. We are also talking to, among others: regarding a new drug in hypophosphatasia. We will also summarize the current drug program at HAE and discuss it further with the company. We have more and more therapies for rare diseases, said Deputy Minister Miłkowski.
Work on making new therapies available is also ongoing in oncology and hematology.
– We are constantly talking, there are always new things; new therapies will definitely be on the lists. We’re talking. I also really want to transfer drugs from the RDTL (emergency access to drug technologies) to the drug program, so that there is no situation where a drug can be used in one center and not in another. We have a uniform standard in the drug program, then it is implemented in all centers – said Deputy Minister Miłkowski.
A comprehensive approach
He also noted that the Ministry of Health is working not only on new molecules, but also on the use of off-label drugs (off-label). – When we talk about drug programs, we try to include all effective therapies, not only those offered by companies, but also those that have had an established position for years. We are asking the medical community, we will want to take these various therapies into account in order to approach drug programs comprehensively, assured Deputy Minister Miłkowski.
He also announced major changes in pharmacy lists, which are related to the generation of certain drugs, as well as major changes related to the preparation of a list of drugs produced in Poland, which will have certain reimbursement preferences.
