Norwegian-Danish Procurement Deal Targets Biogen’s Spinraza
Executive Summary
Norway and Denmark have signed an agreement for the joint procurement of medicines and have their eye on securing a lower price for Biogen’s orphan drug Spinraza.
Norway and Denmark have signed a joint procurement agreement that will see them use their collective bargaining power to negotiate lower drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. Both countries have said they want to secure a lower price for Biogen’s orphan drug Spinraza (nusinersen).
The agreement, signed on Sept. 18 by Denmark's health minister Ellen Trane Nørby and her Norwegian counterpart Bent Høie, covers both new medicines and older ones. The deal is necessary because “Denmark and Norway are small countries … it’s a joint effort to secure better prices,” a spokesperson for the Danish ministry told the Pink Sheet.
The agreement is based on an existing collaboration between the Nordic countries and the door is open for other countries in the region to join.
The two countries want to strengthen their hand in negotiating a lower price for Spinraza, an orphan drug that treats spinal muscular atrophy, which is already reimbursed in both countries. “We have problems with high prices for that [product] in Denmark and Norway, so the goal is to lower the price level of Spinraza through joint negotiations,” said the spokesperson.
Biogen was unable to comment in time for this article. However, the company already has some experience of negotiating with multiple countries after it became the first to win a positive reimbursement decision from the BeNeLuxA grouping earlier this year. (Also see "Biogen: BeNeLuxA Spinraza Talks “Collaborative And Constructive" But Not Without Challenges" - Pink Sheet, 20 Jul, 2018.). Belgium and the Netherlands both agreed to provide access to Spinraza after an 18 month “constructive and collaborative” process.
The BeNeLuxA coalition, which also includes Ireland, Austria and Luxembourg, focuses on joint health technology assessment, pricing negotiations, and information exchange. However, the collaboration between Norway and Denmark is focusing on joint price negotiations, and joint HTA evaluations are not on the table, the spokesperson said.
Tackling shortages
The Norway-Denmark collaboration is also aimed at ensuring older medicines remain accessible. In a statement, the Norwegian health ministry noted concerns that drug shortages are on the increase, with potentially serious consequences for patients.
Shortages have not been a problem in Denmark so far, but this could change, the health ministry spokesperson said. Certain practices that lead to shortages, where companies pull drugs from the market even though they are still in demand, could be prevented through the use of purchasing agreements, she suggested.
From the editors of Scrip Regulatory Affairs