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Monday, 8 February 2010 11:58 GMT
German press review - weekend & Monday
BERLIN, Feb 8 (APM) - Children's vaccinations are running short in Germany, reports Sunday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (p1, 55) and Monday's Financial Times Deutschland (p11), Süddeutsche Zeitung (p1, 4, 8) and Die Welt (p1, 6, 27).
Seven vaccinations have not been available for delivery since the middle of January, says the FAZ. According to GlaxoSmithKline, this is due to production capacity having being focussed on the H1N1 vaccine, says the report.
A spokesperson for GlaxoSmithKline, expressed regrets at the situation and hoped that the "trouble being caused to doctors, parents and children would soon be defused", reports the FAZ.
However according to the spokesperson, the delays "could continue into the second quarter of this year," says the newspaper.
A multiple vaccine covering six ailments and another covering four are in short supply, says the report. The four ailment vaccine covers measles, mumps, German measles and chickenpox, says the report.
According to paediatrician Ursel Lindlbauer, member of Germany's permanent vaccine commission (Ständige Impfkommission, Stiko), doctors were "unfortunately only first informed when the vaccine reserves were practically empty," reports the newspaper.
In an interview with the newspaper she says shortages are nothing new, however it is "seldom that it is a vaccine which a lot of new born babies need for their basic vaccination" and for which there are "no genuine alternatives".
According to Lindlbauer, she has been told that the six ailment vaccine will be available again in mid-February, however she says delays "usually last longer than the producers say they will," reports the article.
An opinion piece in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, says pandemics may be difficult to plan for, however it was not only "foreseeable" that children would need their vaccinations, it was a fact "which is known".
It points out that GSK has no competition, which is good for business but not good for patients, says the article.
It says the problem is with the German pharmaceutical market, in which there is often only one single producer as supplier, who can plan and calculate as he wishes.
MEDICINE PRICING SUGGESTION
The German association of pharmaceutical producers (BAH) intends on Wednesday to present the German health minister Philipp Rösler with a "totally new medicine pricing model" to replace present systems of determining price, reports Monday's Handelsblatt (p12, 13).
According to the head of the BAH Hans-Georg Hoffmann, this system would allow savings in medicines spending, without locking out any companies from the market supplying the statutory health insurers, reports the newspaper.
The Handelsblatt says the project is "ambitious", because it foresees all active ingredients undergoing a cost benefit evaluation.
The new system would introduce "reimbursement price corridors" (Erstattungspreiskorridore), to replace the present "Festbetrag" system, says the newspaper, which is a reimbursement system setting upper limits to the amount reimbursed for drugs categorised into certain groups.
It would also replace "Rabattverträge" says the article, which are the contracts made by statutory health insurers with mostly generics producers, in which a producer has the exclusive right to supply an insurer with a particular medicine for a particular indication at a fixed price.
A "reimbursement price corridor" would have a minimum and maximum price, with the minimum based on "the lowest present prices of the medicines best available on the market in an indication area, in order to ensure that enough medicines are available at a cheap price", says the newspaper.
The difference between the top price reimbursed by a health insurer and the lowest price would be the narrowest in cases where the cost benefit ratio of the medicines are the most similar, reports the article.
The cost benefit ratio should take into account patient satisfaction with a product and other "soft" factors, says the report.
According to health economist Jürgen Wasem, a pilot study has shown that it is possible to develop a price corridor for the most important indications within a few months, says the Handelsblatt.
Wasem says the idea is allow all pharmaceutical producers access to the market at all times with prices with-in the corridor.
This is because each of the present "Rabattverträge" between statutory health insurers and single suppliers means all the other generic producers are locked out of trade and will eventually lead to many being forced out of business, reports the article.
GLAXOSMITHKLINE
Saturday's FAZ (p17) reports GlaxoSmithKline has purchased a minority share holding in Austrian biotech Apeiron and signed a licensing deal worth up to 236 million euros depending on targets being met, says the report.
The deal concerns a lung treatment based on a genetically produced enzyme to protect against the consequences of infections and inflammations of the lung, says the newspaper.
Apeiron has around a dozen employees and has collected around 10.2 million euros in investments, with around two thirds of these from private sources, says the FAZ.
This is the third deal of considerable volume which GSK has signed with an Austrian company, says the article. GSK has connections to Austria's Intercell and "at the time caused a sensation" with its deal on an Alzheimer vaccination with Vienna's Affiris", which could be worth up to 430 million euros, says the newspaper.
INTERVIEW WENNING
Sunday's FAZ (p35) interviews Bayer-Schering head Werner Wenning on health insurance in Germany, Bayer's profits and its position in the world.
Wenning said the company "supports" the plans by the German health minister for a universal per capita health insurance charge, reports the newspaper.
He says it is "socially fair" when someone who is heavily burdened gets tax payers' help and that the greatest advantage it offers, is that the financing of the health service is decoupled from contributions from employers.
Asked about increasing medicine prices, Wenning said prices for patent protected medicines have "only risen slightly", by an average of "2.2% in the past two years", and that there can be "no talk of prices being pushed up", reports the FAZ.
He puts the increase in medicine expenditure down to the increasingly aged population and the increase in costs of developing innovative medicines, pointing out that the development of its oral anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban) cost more than one billion euros and that Bayer employs more than 6,600 staff for research alone, reports the newspaper.
Wenning also criticises the generics producers for not contributing to medical advancement.
Asked about the 30% profit margins to be had in the pharmaceutical business, the head of Bayer explains this refers to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITA) and that because of the risks involved in medicine development, a "risk bonus" is necessary, reports the FAZ.
HEALTH COSTS
Saturday's Welt (p1,4) and FAZ (p12) report in general on the political discussions on the high costs involved in the health system and the need for reform.
Die Welt reports: "Everyone is arguing against everyone else, but neither the doctors, nor the pharmacists, health insurers or politicians want to be those who are responsible for the high costs."
kf/hlc
[18025] 08/02/2010 11:58 GMT - GENERAL
Seven vaccinations have not been available for delivery since the middle of January, says the FAZ. According to GlaxoSmithKline, this is due to production capacity having being focussed on the H1N1 vaccine, says the report.
A spokesperson for GlaxoSmithKline, expressed regrets at the situation and hoped that the "trouble being caused to doctors, parents and children would soon be defused", reports the FAZ.
However according to the spokesperson, the delays "could continue into the second quarter of this year," says the newspaper.
A multiple vaccine covering six ailments and another covering four are in short supply, says the report. The four ailment vaccine covers measles, mumps, German measles and chickenpox, says the report.
According to paediatrician Ursel Lindlbauer, member of Germany's permanent vaccine commission (Ständige Impfkommission, Stiko), doctors were "unfortunately only first informed when the vaccine reserves were practically empty," reports the newspaper.
In an interview with the newspaper she says shortages are nothing new, however it is "seldom that it is a vaccine which a lot of new born babies need for their basic vaccination" and for which there are "no genuine alternatives".
According to Lindlbauer, she has been told that the six ailment vaccine will be available again in mid-February, however she says delays "usually last longer than the producers say they will," reports the article.
An opinion piece in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, says pandemics may be difficult to plan for, however it was not only "foreseeable" that children would need their vaccinations, it was a fact "which is known".
It points out that GSK has no competition, which is good for business but not good for patients, says the article.
It says the problem is with the German pharmaceutical market, in which there is often only one single producer as supplier, who can plan and calculate as he wishes.
MEDICINE PRICING SUGGESTION
The German association of pharmaceutical producers (BAH) intends on Wednesday to present the German health minister Philipp Rösler with a "totally new medicine pricing model" to replace present systems of determining price, reports Monday's Handelsblatt (p12, 13).
According to the head of the BAH Hans-Georg Hoffmann, this system would allow savings in medicines spending, without locking out any companies from the market supplying the statutory health insurers, reports the newspaper.
The Handelsblatt says the project is "ambitious", because it foresees all active ingredients undergoing a cost benefit evaluation.
The new system would introduce "reimbursement price corridors" (Erstattungspreiskorridore), to replace the present "Festbetrag" system, says the newspaper, which is a reimbursement system setting upper limits to the amount reimbursed for drugs categorised into certain groups.
It would also replace "Rabattverträge" says the article, which are the contracts made by statutory health insurers with mostly generics producers, in which a producer has the exclusive right to supply an insurer with a particular medicine for a particular indication at a fixed price.
A "reimbursement price corridor" would have a minimum and maximum price, with the minimum based on "the lowest present prices of the medicines best available on the market in an indication area, in order to ensure that enough medicines are available at a cheap price", says the newspaper.
The difference between the top price reimbursed by a health insurer and the lowest price would be the narrowest in cases where the cost benefit ratio of the medicines are the most similar, reports the article.
The cost benefit ratio should take into account patient satisfaction with a product and other "soft" factors, says the report.
According to health economist Jürgen Wasem, a pilot study has shown that it is possible to develop a price corridor for the most important indications within a few months, says the Handelsblatt.
Wasem says the idea is allow all pharmaceutical producers access to the market at all times with prices with-in the corridor.
This is because each of the present "Rabattverträge" between statutory health insurers and single suppliers means all the other generic producers are locked out of trade and will eventually lead to many being forced out of business, reports the article.
GLAXOSMITHKLINE
Saturday's FAZ (p17) reports GlaxoSmithKline has purchased a minority share holding in Austrian biotech Apeiron and signed a licensing deal worth up to 236 million euros depending on targets being met, says the report.
The deal concerns a lung treatment based on a genetically produced enzyme to protect against the consequences of infections and inflammations of the lung, says the newspaper.
Apeiron has around a dozen employees and has collected around 10.2 million euros in investments, with around two thirds of these from private sources, says the FAZ.
This is the third deal of considerable volume which GSK has signed with an Austrian company, says the article. GSK has connections to Austria's Intercell and "at the time caused a sensation" with its deal on an Alzheimer vaccination with Vienna's Affiris", which could be worth up to 430 million euros, says the newspaper.
INTERVIEW WENNING
Sunday's FAZ (p35) interviews Bayer-Schering head Werner Wenning on health insurance in Germany, Bayer's profits and its position in the world.
Wenning said the company "supports" the plans by the German health minister for a universal per capita health insurance charge, reports the newspaper.
He says it is "socially fair" when someone who is heavily burdened gets tax payers' help and that the greatest advantage it offers, is that the financing of the health service is decoupled from contributions from employers.
Asked about increasing medicine prices, Wenning said prices for patent protected medicines have "only risen slightly", by an average of "2.2% in the past two years", and that there can be "no talk of prices being pushed up", reports the FAZ.
He puts the increase in medicine expenditure down to the increasingly aged population and the increase in costs of developing innovative medicines, pointing out that the development of its oral anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban) cost more than one billion euros and that Bayer employs more than 6,600 staff for research alone, reports the newspaper.
Wenning also criticises the generics producers for not contributing to medical advancement.
Asked about the 30% profit margins to be had in the pharmaceutical business, the head of Bayer explains this refers to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITA) and that because of the risks involved in medicine development, a "risk bonus" is necessary, reports the FAZ.
HEALTH COSTS
Saturday's Welt (p1,4) and FAZ (p12) report in general on the political discussions on the high costs involved in the health system and the need for reform.
Die Welt reports: "Everyone is arguing against everyone else, but neither the doctors, nor the pharmacists, health insurers or politicians want to be those who are responsible for the high costs."
kf/hlc
[18025] 08/02/2010 11:58 GMT - GENERAL
