Time From Drug Approval to Reimbursement Longer in U.S. Than Some European Countries
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Sept. 3, 2024 -- Time from approval to reimbursement of new drugs varies between countries and is shortest in Switzerland and Germany, both of which include health technology assessment decisions that are not used in the United States, according to a study published online Sept. 3 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Camille E.G. Glaus, J.D., from the University of Zurich, and colleagues examined time from approval to reimbursement of new drugs in the United States and European countries. New drugs approved in the United States, the European Union, England, and Switzerland between Jan. 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2022, were identified, and reimbursement status and dates were extracted as of Dec. 31, 2023.
The study included 290 drugs approved by all regulatory bodies. The researchers found that the median time from approval to reimbursement was 5.8, 7.4, 9.2, 12.9, and 17.7 months in Switzerland, Germany, the United States, France, and England, respectively. France had the highest reimbursement rate one month after approval (25.9 percent), followed by Switzerland and England (9.7 and 0.7 percent, respectively); at one month, the United States and Germany had no drugs reimbursed. Germany, the United States, and Switzerland had the highest reimbursement rates of 74.3, 70.7, and 62.8 percent, respectively, at one year after approval; in England and France, the rates were 37.1 and 49.0 percent, respectively.
"Our findings suggest that incorporation of a health technology assessment system and drug negotiation process in the United States would not necessarily result in longer time until reimbursement," the authors write.
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted September 2024
Read this next
Swept-Source Anterior Segment OCT Can Help Distinguish Early Childhood Glaucoma
FRIDAY, May 23, 2025 -- The noninvasive swept-source anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (SS-ASOCT) can diagnose early-onset childhood glaucoma, according to a study...
Semaglutide Plus Intensive Behavioral Therapy Most Beneficial for Weight Loss
FRIDAY, May 23, 2025 -- Weight loss treatment combining personalized semaglutide with intensive behavioral therapy (IBT) yields weight loss similar to that reported in...
Higher Social Media Use Tied to Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in Youth
FRIDAY, May 23, 2025 -- Higher social media use is associated with greater subsequent depressive symptoms in children and adolescents, according to a study published online May 21...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.