Flexibility needed in therapies

- Innovation in pharma is of key importance. This is a priority for all who are looking for an effective health care system, Michał Byliniak, CEO of the Employers’ Union of Innovative Pharmaceutical Companies INFARMA, explained during the Economic Forum in Karpacz.

Challenges currently facing the health care system include the health debt after the Covid-19 pandemic, which translates into patients’ health deterioration due to long waiting lists for specialists’ consultations. Other factors include civilisation diseases and aging population.

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Michał Byliniak explained how innovative therapies can help. - Many diseases that are treated with new-generation drugs become benign and the patients go through them in better shape. The recovery process is shortened. Patients reach a satisfactory standard of living much quicker, so that they are well enough to take up professional development or family activities.

He noted that in Poland, there is still a lot to be done within this area. - We are moving away from comparing ourselves with Western Europe, where the maturity of health care systems is at a completely different level. INFARMA carried out an analysis of the solutions implemented in the countries of the Visegrád Group. We also looked the European research and scientific societies’ recommendations. Although innovation in Poland is noticeable and decision-makers are aware of the value it brings, as a country we still have a long way to go.

Ministerial systems, such as P1 System – “Digital Platform for Collection, Analysis, and Sharing of Digital Resources on Medical Events,” is an online platform for public health services. It collects data on Polish patients and information on the effectiveness of medicines or the number of visits.

- Based on this data, we are able to offer more effective reimbursement models and make more accurate decisions that will help us strive for the EU average in the area of accessibility to innovative therapies. It is important that legislative changes are not made to block certain processes, Michał Byliniak explained.

- As pharmaceutical companies, we need flexibility and openness to ideas that in many cases have already been tested. Poland is one of the many countries where innovative drugs are present and where the negotiations are carried out, resulting in reimbursement decisions. The companies have research results to prove how effective the drugs are, but they also know the reimbursement mechanisms used around the world and have all sorts of proven solutions to offer that allow to reduce the risk of impact on the budget of the National Health Fund, which many who make the decision to cover a therapy with reimbursement are afraid of, Michał Byliniak emphasised.

He also pointed out how important legislative openness and stability are for the development of pharmaceutical innovation. - I’m talking about a situation where companies know what to expect. We want to be able to move smoothly through all the stages – which include submitting an application to propose a therapy or looking for an implementation possibility – with a stable perspective of several years ahead. There are drugs that are used for small groups of patients, with diseases that are relatively rare. Sometimes, it is several people nationwide. This perspective, which is the basis of the conversation with the Ministry, must be long-term, concluded Michał Byliniak.

- Notes taken by: Kinga Pawlikowska