Hungarian AIPM calls for larger budget to expand access to innovative therapies

Since accelerating access to pharmaceutical innovation is also a strategic goal of the government, Hungary’s Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (AIPM) trusts that, following the forced stagnation in 2020 caused by the epidemic, along with the restart of the economy, new modern drug therapies will soon also be available to Hungarian patients, and there will be more room for manoeuvre in next year’s budget for the inclusion of new medicinal products in social security subsidy.

The bill on the 2022 budget will provide only 2% extra funds at the level of net pharmaceutical expenditures compared to the plans for 2021. From the pharma trade group’s standpoint, contrary to the government’s intentions, this expansion is not sufficient to enable Hungarian patients to access the latest innovative treatments faster than before, the AIPM stated.

While between 2014 and 2019 one in three of the latest therapies became available to Hungarian patients in domestic funding, the last inclusion concerning innovative medicinal products took place in 2019. This means that at present, more than 90 different therapies are still pending inclusion in Hungary, regarding which nearly forty requests for a decision were filed by the National Health Insurance Fund Manager (NEAK) in the second half of last year.