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Gore C, Morin S, Røttingen JA, Kieny MP. Negotiating public-health intellectual property licensing agreements to increase access to health technologies: an insider's story. BMJ Glob Health 2023; 8:e012964. [PMID: 37669799 PMCID: PMC10496684 DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2023-012964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Public health voluntary licensing of intellectual property has successfully been applied to increase access to medicines in certain disease areas, producing health benefits and economic savings, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. There is however limited understanding of the intricacies of the approach, the modalities by which it works in practice, its levers and the trade-offs made. Such knowledge may be critical in deciding what role licensing should have in pandemic preparedness and equitable access to health technologies more broadly. This paper examines the case for licensing, the considerations for balancing public health needs, the challenges of negotiations, and the processes for validating proposed agreements. No access mechanism is perfect, but evidence suggests that public-health licensing has an important role to play, although it remains underused. Understanding some of the realities, strengths, limitations and complexities of applying the model may help calibrate expectations and develop incentives to expand its applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Gore
- Management, Medicines Patent Pool, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sébastien Morin
- Policy, Strategy and Market Access, Medicines Patent Pool, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - John-Arne Røttingen
- Governance Board, Medicines Patent Pool, Geneva, Switzerland
- Global Health, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oslo, Norway
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Beck EJ, Mandalia S, Yfantopoulos P, Leon A, Merino MJ, Garcia F, Wittevogel M, Apers L, Benkovic I, Zekan S, Begovac J, Cunha AS, Teofilo E, Rodrigues G, Borges MDF, Fatz D, Vera J, Whetham J. Efficiency of the EmERGE Pathway of Care in Five European HIV Centres. PHARMACOECONOMICS 2022; 40:1235-1246. [PMID: 36227463 DOI: 10.1007/s40273-022-01193-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We aimed to calculate the efficiency of the EmERGE Pathway of Care in five European HIV clinics, developed and implemented for medically stable people living with HIV. METHODS Participants were followed up for 1 year before and after implementation of EmERGE, between April 2016 and October 2019. Micro-costing studies were performed in the outpatient services of the clinics. Unit costs for outpatient services were calculated in national currencies and converted to US$ 2018 OECD purchasing parity prices to enable between clinic comparisons in terms of outcomes and costs. Unit costs were linked to the mean use of services for medically stable people living with HIV, before and after implementation of EmERGE. Primary outcome measures were CD4 count and viral load; secondary outcomes were patient activation (PAM13) and quality of life (PROQOL-HIV). Out-of-pocket expenditure data were collected. RESULTS There were 2251 participants: 87-93% were male, mean age at entry was 41-47 years. Medically stable people living with HIV had outpatient visits in four sites which decreased by 9-31% and costs by 5-33%; visits and costs increased by 8% in one site, which had to revert back to face-to-face visits. Antiretroviral drugs comprised 83-91% of annual costs: the Portuguese site had the highest antiretroviral drug costs in US$ purchasing parity prices. Primary and secondary outcome measures of participants did not change during the study. CONCLUSIONS EmERGE is acceptable and provided cost savings in different socio-economic settings. Antiretroviral drug costs remain the main cost drivers in medically stable people living with HIV. While antiretroviral drug prices in local currencies did not differ that much between countries, conversion to US$ purchasing parity prices revealed antiretroviral drugs were more expensive in the least wealthy countries. This needs to be taken into consideration when countries negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical vendors. Greater efficiencies can be anticipated by extending the use of the EmERGE Pathway to people with complex HIV infection or other chronic diseases. Extending such use should be systematically monitored, implementation should be evaluated and funding should be provided to monitor and evaluate future changes in service provision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduard J Beck
- NPMS-HHC CIC, 21 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3HH, UK.
- Department of Health Services Research and Policy, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
| | | | | | - Agathe Leon
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS (HC-IDIBAPS), University of HC-IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marie J Merino
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS (HC-IDIBAPS), University of HC-IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Felipe Garcia
- Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS (HC-IDIBAPS), University of HC-IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Ludwig Apers
- Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Ivana Benkovic
- University Hospital for Infectious Diseases (UHID), Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Sime Zekan
- University Hospital for Infectious Diseases (UHID), Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Josip Begovac
- University Hospital for Infectious Diseases (UHID), Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ana S Cunha
- Hospital Capuchos, Centro Hospitalar De Lisboa Central, EPE (HC-CHLC), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Eugenio Teofilo
- Hospital Capuchos, Centro Hospitalar De Lisboa Central, EPE (HC-CHLC), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Goncalo Rodrigues
- Hospital Capuchos, Centro Hospitalar De Lisboa Central, EPE (HC-CHLC), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Margarida D F Borges
- Hospital Capuchos, Centro Hospitalar De Lisboa Central, EPE (HC-CHLC), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Duncan Fatz
- Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust (BSUHT), Brighton, UK
| | - Jamie Vera
- Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust (BSUHT), Brighton, UK
| | - Jennifer Whetham
- Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust (BSUHT), Brighton, UK
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The efficiency of the EmERGE platform for medically stable people living with HIV in Portugal. Porto Biomed J 2022; 7:e191. [DOI: 10.1097/j.pbj.0000000000000191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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Beck EJ, Mandalia S, Yfantopoulos P, Jones CI, Bremner S, Whetham J, Etcheverry F, Moreno L, Gonzalez E, Merino MJ, Leon A, Garcia F. Efficiency of the EmERGE Pathway to provide continuity of care for Spanish people living with medically stable HIV. ENFERMEDADES INFECCIOSAS Y MICROBIOLOGIA CLINICA (ENGLISH ED.) 2022; 40:388-395. [PMID: 35906033 DOI: 10.1016/j.eimce.2020.11.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Calculate the efficiency of the EmERGE Pathway of Care for medically stable people living with HIV at the Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain. METHODS 546 study participants were followed between 1st July 2016 and 30th October 2019 across three HIV outpatient clinics, but the virtual clinic was closed during the second year. Unit costs were calculated, linked to mean use outpatient services per patient year, one-year before and after the implementation of EmERGE. Costs were combined with primary and secondary outcomes. RESULTS Annual costs across HIV-outpatient services increased by 8%: €1073 (95%CI €999-€1157) to €1158 (95%CI €1084-€1238). Annual cost of ARVs was €7,557; total annual costs increased by 1% from €8430 (95%CI €8356-8514) to €8515 (95%CI €8441-8595). Annual cost for 433 participants managed in face-to-face (F2F) clinics decreased by 5% from €958 (95%CI 905-1018) to €904 (95%CI 863-945); participants transferred from virtual to F2F outpatient clinics (V2F) increased their annual cost by a factor of 2.2, from €115 (95%CI 94-139) to €251 (95%CI 219-290). No substantive changes were observed in primary and secondary outcomes. CONCLUSION EmERGE Pathway is an efficient and acceptable intervention. Increases in costs were caused by internal structural changes. The cost reduction observed in F2F clinics were off-set by the transfer of participants from the virtual to the F2F clinics due to the closure of the virtual clinic during the second year of the Study. Greater efficiencies are likely to be achieved by extending the use of the Pathway to other PLHIV.
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Affiliation(s)
- E J Beck
- NPMS-HHC CIC, London, UK; Department of Health Services Research and Policy, Faculty of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
| | | | | | - C I Jones
- Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, UK
| | - S Bremner
- Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, UK
| | - J Whetham
- Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Brighton, UK
| | - F Etcheverry
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - L Moreno
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - E Gonzalez
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - M J Merino
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Leon
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - F Garcia
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Morin S, Moak HB, Bubb-Humfryes O, von Drehle C, Lazarus JV, Burrone E. The economic and public health impact of intellectual property licensing of medicines for low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study. Lancet Public Health 2022; 7:e169-e176. [PMID: 34710359 PMCID: PMC8809901 DOI: 10.1016/s2468-2667(21)00202-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Non-exclusive voluntary licensing that is access-oriented has been suggested as an option to increase access to medicines to address the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, there has been little research on the effect of licensing, mainly focused on economic and supply chain considerations, and not on the benefits in terms of health outcomes. We aimed to study the economic and health effect of voluntary licensing for medicines for HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). METHODS A robust modelling framework was created to examine the difference between scenarios, with (factual) and without (counterfactual) a Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) licence for two medicines, dolutegravir and daclatasvir. Data were obtained from MPP licensees, as well as a large number of external sources. The primary outcomes were the cost savings and health impact between scenarios with and without MPP licences across all LMICs. Through its licences, MPP had access to the volumes and prices of licensed generic products sold in all covered countries on a quarterly basis. These data informed the volumes, prices, and uptake for the past factual scenarios and were the basis for modelling the future factual scenarios. These scenarios were then compared with a set of counterfactual scenarios in the absence of the studied licences. FINDINGS Cumulatively, between 2017 and 2032, the model's central assumptions predicted an additional uptake of 15·494 (range 14·406-15·494) million patient-years of dolutegravir-based HIV treatments, 151 839 (34 575-312 973) deaths averted, and US$3·074 (1·837-5·617) billion saved through the MPP licence compared with the counterfactual scenario. For daclatasvir-based HCV treatments, the cumulative effect from 2015 to 2026 was predicted to be an additional uptake of 428 244 (127 584-636 270) patients treated with daclatasvir, 4070 (225-6323) deaths averted, and $107·593 (30·377-121·284) million saved with the licence compared with the counterfactual scenario. INTERPRETATION The chain of effects linking upstream licensing to downstream outcomes can be modelled. Accordingly, credible quantitative estimates of economic and health effects arising from access-oriented voluntary licensing were obtained based on assumptions that early generic competition leads to price reductions that influence procurement decisions and enable the faster and broader uptake of recommended medicines, with beneficial economic and health effects. FUNDING Unitaid.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Jeffrey V Lazarus
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
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Nakambale HN, Bangalee V. Global Outsourcing and Local Tendering Supply Chain Systems in the Public Healthcare Sector: A Cost Comparison Analysis, Namibia. Value Health Reg Issues 2021; 30:1-8. [PMID: 34915421 DOI: 10.1016/j.vhri.2021.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To compare supplier prices for local tendering and global outsourcing supply chain systems that are used to purchase pharmaceutical products by the Ministry of Health in Namibia and to compare the supplier prices for both systems to the international reference buyer median prices. METHODS This study was quantitative in design and compared local and international supplier prices for a basket of vaccines, antiretrovirals, and anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs from 2015 to 2020. Prices were retrieved from the procurement documents obtained from the Central Medical Stores division of the Ministry of Health, Namibia. The study also compared local and international supplier prices with the international reference buyer median prices obtained from the Management Sciences for Health International Drug Price Indicator Guide (2015 edition). RESULTS It was found that 77% of all the pharmaceutical products in the study were more expensive when obtained from the local suppliers than from international suppliers-that is, vaccines (70%), antiretrovirals (86.6%), and anti-TB drugs (67%). More than 50% of all the pharmaceutical products had local and international supplier prices, which were higher than the international reference buyer median prices. The price differentials were found to be higher for pharmaceutical products that were newly introduced into TB and human immunodeficiency virus treatment guidelines. CONCLUSIONS The study has concluded that local suppliers were costlier than international suppliers for vaccines, antiretrovirals, and anti-TB drugs. The international price comparisons have shown that there is a need for improving the pricing mechanisms in Namibia to reduce the prices of several essential medicines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hilma N Nakambale
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
| | - Varsha Bangalee
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
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Beck EJ, Mandalia S, Yfantopoulos P, Jones CI, Bremner S, Whetham J, Wittevrongel M, Apers L. The efficiency of the EmERGE pathway to provide continuity of care for medically stable people living with HIV in Belgium. Acta Clin Belg 2021; 77:915-924. [PMID: 34802399 DOI: 10.1080/17843286.2021.2004697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Beck EJ, Mandalia S, Yfantopoulos P, Jones CI, Bremner S, Whetham J, Etcheverry F, Moreno L, Gonzalez E, Merino MJ, Leon A, Garcia F. Efficiency of the EmERGE Pathway to provide continuity of care for Spanish people living with medically stable HIV. Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin 2021; 40:S0213-005X(20)30422-5. [PMID: 33549335 DOI: 10.1016/j.eimc.2020.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Calculate the efficiency of the EmERGE Pathway of Care for medically stable people living with HIV at the Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain. METHODS 546 study participants were followed between 1st July 2016 and 30th October 2019 across three HIV outpatient clinics, but the virtual clinic was closed during the second year. Unit costs were calculated, linked to mean use outpatient services per patient year, one-year before and after the implementation of EmERGE. Costs were combined with primary and secondary outcomes. RESULTS Annual costs across HIV-outpatient services increased by 8%: €1073 (95%CI €999-€1157) to €1158 (95%CI €1084-€1238). Annual cost of ARVs was €7,557; total annual costs increased by 1% from €8430 (95%CI €8356-8514) to €8515 (95%CI €8441-8595). Annual cost for 433 participants managed in face-to-face (F2F) clinics decreased by 5% from €958 (95%CI 905-1018) to €904 (95%CI 863-945); participants transferred from virtual to F2F outpatient clinics (V2F) increased their annual cost by a factor of 2.2, from €115 (95%CI 94-139) to €251 (95%CI 219-290). No substantive changes were observed in primary and secondary outcomes. CONCLUSION EmERGE Pathway is an efficient and acceptable intervention. Increases in costs were caused by internal structural changes. The cost reduction observed in F2F clinics were off-set by the transfer of participants from the virtual to the F2F clinics due to the closure of the virtual clinic during the second year of the Study. Greater efficiencies are likely to be achieved by extending the use of the Pathway to other PLHIV.
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Affiliation(s)
- E J Beck
- NPMS-HHC CIC, London, UK; Department of Health Services Research and Policy, Faculty of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
| | | | | | - C I Jones
- Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, UK
| | - S Bremner
- Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, UK
| | - J Whetham
- Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Brighton, UK
| | - F Etcheverry
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - L Moreno
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - E Gonzalez
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - M J Merino
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - A Leon
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - F Garcia
- Fundació Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Zarei L, Karimzadeh I, Moradi N, Peymani P, Asadi S, Babar ZUD. Affordability Assessment from a Static to Dynamic Concept: A Scenario-Based Assessment of Cardiovascular Medicines. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17051710. [PMID: 32151039 PMCID: PMC7084506 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17051710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The out-of-pocket payments for prescription medications can impose a financial burden on patients from low- and middle- incomes and who suffer from chronic diseases. The present study aims at evaluating the affordability of cardiovascular disease (CVD) medication in Iran. This includes measuring affordability through World Health Organization/Health Action International (WHO/HAI) methodology. In this method, affordability is characterized as the number of days’ wages of the lowest-paid unskilled government worker. The different medication therapy scenarios are defined in mono-and combination therapy approaches. This method adds on to WHO/HAI methodology to discover new approaches to affordability assessments. The results show the differences in the medicines affordability when different approaches are used in mono-and combination therapy between 6 main sub-therapeutic groups of CVD. It indicates the medicine affordability is not a static concept and it changes dynamically between CVD therapeutic subgroups when it used alone or in combination with other medicines regarding patients’ characteristics and medical conditions. Hypertension and anti-arrhythmia therapeutic groups had the most non-affordability and hyperlipidemia had the most affordable medicines. Therefore, affordability can be considered as a dynamic concept, which not only affected by the medicine price but significantly affected by a patient’s characteristics, the number of medical conditions, and insurance coverage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila Zarei
- Pharmacoeconomics and Pharma Management, Health Policy Research Center, Institute of Heath, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Fars, Iran;
| | - Iman Karimzadeh
- Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Fars, Iran;
| | - Najmeh Moradi
- Pharmacoeconomics and Pharma Management, Health Management and Economics Research Centre, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +98-9127932540
| | - Payam Peymani
- Pharmacoepidemiology, Health Policy Research Center, Institute of Heath, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Fars, Iran;
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sara Asadi
- Clinical Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Fars, Iran;
| | - Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar
- Medicines and Healthcare, Department of Pharmacy, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, HD1 3DH Huddersfield, UK;
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Garcia A, Moore Boffi S, Gayet-Ageron A, Vernaz N. Access to unauthorized hepatitis C generics: Perception and knowledge of physicians, pharmacists, patients and non-healthcare professionals. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0223649. [PMID: 31600328 PMCID: PMC6786651 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes both acute and chronic infection, which can potentially develop into cirrhosis and liver cancer. Healthcare systems are struggling to finance costly direct-acting antiviral agents through public funding for uninsured patients, despite the unprecedented high cure rates of these agents. Vulnerable populations are at higher risk of HCV infection. The personal importation scheme is based on the legal right to import any unauthorized generics for personal use. This study was designed to assess the knowledge and perceptions of stakeholders on unauthorized generics. METHODS We conducted an anonymous online survey based on the fictitious situation of a patient diagnosed with HCV who lacked mandatory health insurance and personal financial resources. RESULTS We obtained a sample of 781 respondents: 445 physicians, 77 pharmacists, 51 patients and 207 non-healthcare professionals. We found that only 36% and 58% of respondents believe that the quality and efficacy, respectively, of unauthorized generics are equivalent to their corresponding brand. An overwhelming majority (98%) favoured quality control upon arrival, and 31% felt they could recognize fraudulent websites. A total of 79% expressed support for financial assistance for vulnerable patients, and support among physicians was 83%. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the limited knowledge of the efficacy and quality of unauthorized generics, despite evidence in peer-reviewed literature, contrasts with the overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward financial assistance for personal import. This finding emphasizes the need for clearer information on imported generics and the potential safety provided by buyers' club schemes to complete the WHO agenda of eradicating viral hepatitis by 2030 within otherwise excluded vulnerable populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amandine Garcia
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Angèle Gayet-Ageron
- Medical Directorate, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Nathalie Vernaz
- Medical Directorate, Finance Directorate, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva University, Geneva, Switzerland
- * E-mail:
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Dusheiko G, Gore C. Antiviral treatment for hepatitis C: rebalancing cost, affordability, and availability. LANCET GLOBAL HEALTH 2019; 7:e1150-e1151. [PMID: 31362913 DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(19)30313-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey Dusheiko
- University College London Medical School, London, UK; Kings College Hospital, London, UK.
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