By KYIV. Dec 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – In 2023, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine will purchase nine medicines under managed entry agreements (MEAs), the European Business Association (EBA) reports in a press release.
"The Healthcare Committee of the European Business Association welcomes the purchase of nine medicines by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine for 2023 at once using a new mechanism for Ukraine – managed entry agreements," the EBA reports.
It is specified that under MEAs, the Ministry of Health will purchase in 2023 drugs for the treatment of serious diseases, in particular rare (orphan) and oncological ones, which are included in the priority areas for the development of the healthcare sector. In particular, MEAs for drugs for the treatment of patients with SMA (spinal muscular atrophy) have been signed for three years.
In Ukraine, MEAs are concluded through direct negotiation procedures between the customer on the part of the state (Ministry of Health, SOE Medical Procurement of Ukraine) and the manufacturer. They provide for the confidentiality of certain conditions, in particular the final price of the subject of the purchase. Such a tool allows manufacturers and the state to obtain mutually beneficial conditions for providing patients with drugs, given the lack of competition in the market of the respective country. In turn, patients receive medicines purchased by the state free of charge.
According to EBA experts, the next step in applying the MEA mechanism could be procurement under targeted regional programs.
