Malta wlth the least access to new innovative medicines in the EU

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LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A recent report published by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and healthcare consultants (IQVIA) classified Malta with the lowest access to new innovative medicines approved in the European Union between 2018 and the end of 2021. Out of the 168 pharmaceuticals approved by the European Commission, only 10 were available in Malta, four were freely available in the public health service while six were accessible without cost on a case-by-case basis. However, the number of new medicines only available in private healthcare was four times as much that number, with 24% (40 products).   In total, more than two-thirds of the 168 new pharmaceutical products were completely unavailable in Malta; equivalent to 70%, or 118 products. Medicines used for cancer treatment were mostly unavailble, with only one out of the 46 new products to be found in Malta this year. This is the lowest out of all 37 countries surveyed, including all 27 EU states and 10 other European countries, with Bosnia and Albania ranking the second and third lowest respectively. Only one new cancer drug was accessible in public health service, while 20 were only available in the private medical sector and 25 were entirely inaccessible.  However, Malta fared slightlu better when it comes to Orphan pharmaceuticals which are used to treat, diagnose or prevent rare life-threatening or chronically debilitating diseases or those seen as commercially unviable by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Out of the 61 new authorized Orphan drugs, four were widely available in Malta at the start of this year, representing one-sixth of the EU average, the report said.  A further 15 were only available privately. Germany ranked top of the classification, enjoying a higher level of access to medicines in all and the shortest time between approval and availability. However, Malta consistently was listed among the bottom three EU countries surveyed.ast April, the European Commission remarked about the lack of equal access to new medicines across the European bloc and delays in reaching patients.

 

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