Research

Over the past decades, innovative cancer medicines have entered the market and improved the overall survival of cancer patients. However, their high prices pressure the sustainability of healthcare in European countries resulting in inequality of patient access. The European Fair Pricing Network works towards fairer prices of cancer medicines and a more efficient pharmaceutical market, stimulating the development of innovative and highly valuable medicines, where patient needs and equal access for all patients are key objectives.

This project focuses on direct patient access to new cancer medicine across Europe. The aim of this project is to analyze differences in availability & timely access of innovative cancer medicines. Currently, we are interviewing hospital pharmacists about the use and distribution of expensive oncology medicines in their hospital: our focus is on patient access, early access programs and off-label use.

This project focusses national policies in relation to access to innovative medicines and identify strategies leading to equity and equality in patient access. For this project, we interview stakeholders involved with the national pricing and reimbursement processes about their point of views regarding the policy strategies in their country.

The SEC-trial is a clinical trial and concerns a questionnaire, tailored to cancer patients, to assess the financial consequences for a patient when diagnosed with cancer. Our goal is to evaluate the relationship between such financial consequences, for instance loss of work(hours), out-of-pocket expenses or indirect costs, to patient’s stress levels and quality of life.

The aim of this project is to present the real prices of a selected group of innovative cancer medicines in various European countries and compare them to the public listing price, and compare both between countries. We also attempt to identify at which levels pricing negotiations are happening per country and to distinguish the costs and the real prices of the medicines: costs for innovation, R&D costs, costs related to production, marketing and delivery, and actual price.

Health-care expenditures are rapidly rising, and decision-making bodies struggle with a fine balance between efficacy review, timely-access, and extremely high prices. A large variety in approval policies results in a variety in access to EMA authorized medicine, with incomprehensible prices worldwide. In this project, we work towards a framework for considerate efficacy review in order to support decision-making bodies in drug authorization and to ensure a fair, equivalent and sustainable healthcare system in the future.

The use of targeted combination therapy is becoming more available in oncology care. Targeted combination therapy brings a budget challenge to payers and healthcare systems. In our research, we will explore the heterogenicity of targeted combination therapy use within Europe, and evaluate solutions for fair evaluation, pricing and reimbursement for targeted combination therapies.

Novel cost-based, or value-based pricing models can provide information about the justification of the price for a drug. We aim at applying such models in order to calculate fair price ranges for oncology drugs.