Health Minister says "year-long medication needs" to be financed for oncology patients
Georgian Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili on Monday said the Ministry would finance "year-long medication needs" for oncology patients and was in talks with drug manufacturers. Photo: Ministry of Health
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Georgian Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili on Monday said the Ministry would finance "year-long medication needs" for oncology patients and was in talks with drug manufacturers.
The Minister told local press talks on “direct purchase” with the makers were ongoing and aiming to use “additional discount” and preferential pricing to finance the support.
He also said the mechanisms were chosen by the state body after the Government had been advised by its consultants and experts commissioned by the World Bank against imposing reference pricing on expensive medications for oncology patients.
Last month the Ministry released a statement that said some domestic pharmaceutical companies had “artificially increased prices” on expensive oncological medicines.
The National Competition Agency has started inspecting four companies in the domestic market following the “sharp increase” in prices of medicines for chronic and oncological illnesses.
The group of medications is financed by the state’s Universal Healthcare Programme.
The Georgian Government’s Interagency Commission has been authorised to set wholesale prices for select pharmaceutical products by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, in the latest move designed to effect a reduction of domestic costs of medication.
Irakli Garibashvili, the Prime Minister of Georgia, on Monday said the Government funding of domestic healthcare programmes had hit ₾7 billion ($2.7 billion) over the past 10 years, in comments marking an anniversary of the State Universal Healthcare Programme.
The Georgian National Competition Agency on Monday said it had started inspecting four companies in the Georgian pharmaceutical market following “sharp increase” by them in prices of medicines for chronic and oncological illnesses.
The Georgian Health Ministry on Thursday said it would have a “strict response” to “artificially increased prices” on expensive oncological medicines, after the “significant” surge of prices by “some” pharmaceutical companies.
The Georgian Government will finance treatment for 300 children cancer patients in the country in the “best clinics” around the world in a ₾30 million ($12mln) annual programme, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced on Monday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Monday said the complication with ensuring access to Voxzogo (vosoritide), an experimental drug for treating achondroplasia, for children in the country was its potential side effects and not funding from his Government.
Paediatric oncology and provision of children patients with “high quality, contemporary” healthcare services represents a “priority” of the Ministry of Health of Georgia, First Deputy Minister Tamar Gabunia said on Monday.
Tamar Gabunia, the Georgian Deputy Health Minister, on Monday called parents demanding Government provision of an experimental drug for treating achondroplasia to halt rallies and “return to constructive dialogue” with the body to facilitate the “complicated process” of introducing the medicine for their children.
Tamar Gabunia, the Georgian Deputy Health Minister, on Tuesday told the World Health Assembly in Geneva her Government was working to improve maternal, newborn and child health services across the country.
Georgian health authorities confirmed the first cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in the country this year on Tuesday, with eight confirmed patients admitted to medical facilities with the condition.
Georgia has received 345,000 doses of the vaccine for the Foot & Mouth Disease SAT-2 from the European Commission to aid immunisation efforts in cattle and small ruminants, the National Food Agency said on Thursday.
The Regulation Agency for Medical and Pharmaceutical Activities of Georgia has “proactively” registered 563 medicines to simplify their import for domestic companies, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday.
A new bill will allow the Georgian Government to purchase “innovative” medical drugs at discounted prices, in a bid to improve access to the products for customers, the Government Administration revealed on Monday.
The Georgian Ministry of Health and medical institutions in Israel, Spain and Turkey will sign agreements on cooperation this month to offer treatment to 300 children patients of cancer in Georgia in a ₾30 million ($11.56mln) annual programme. The programme - fully financed by the state - would be a “transitional stage” until services are strengthened in Georgia, and a children's oncology centre, equipped with modern standards and high-tech equipment, is created in the country.
The Georgian Government will fully finance treatment of children with oncological diseases in medical institutions of Israel, Spain and Turkey after signing a deal on cooperation with partner clinics on Monday, the Health Ministry announced.
Hormone therapy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and medicines will be financed for all oncology patients throughout Georgia, the Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Friday said the Government would allocate an additional ₾65 million ($23 mln) to the Healthcare Ministry to finance early treatment for oncology patients in next year's budget, with a total spending of ₾7.8 billion ($2,873).