A new report from PhRMA, the Global Access to New Medicines Report, highlights significant disparities in the availability and public reimbursement of new medicines among G20 countries. The study analyzed 648 new medicines approved by the FDA, EMA, or Japan’s PMDA between 2005 and 2021. The United States had the highest percentage of new drugs launched and publicly reimbursed, with 85% of drugs available and covered by public health insurance. This advantage can be attributed to the U.S. being a primary destination for regulatory approval and having a more streamlined reimbursement process.

In Europe, the four largest markets—Germany, the UK, Italy, and France—had relatively high percentages of new medicines launched, ranging from 52% to 61%. However, the percentage of new drugs publicly reimbursed was significantly lower, particularly in the UK, Italy, and France.

Japan stood out in the Asia-Pacific region, with 51% of new medicines launched and 48% publicly reimbursed. China has made progress in recent years but still had low percentages of new drugs launched and publicly reimbursed, at 24% and 15%, respectively. Canada had 45% of new medicines launched, but only 21% were publicly reimbursed, considering that many Canadians rely on private health insurance.

Australia had even lower rates, with only 34% of new medicines launched and 24% reimbursed. Among emerging markets in the G20, Saudi Arabia performed the best, with 38% of new drugs launched and 26% publicly reimbursed, as it aims to become a priority launch market. In most other emerging markets, the percentage of new medicines publicly reimbursed was below 20%, reaching just 1% in India.1

Click here to access the report.

References

  1. Global Access to New Medicines Report. (n.d.). PhRMA. https://phrma.org/resource-center/Topics/Access-to-Medicines/Global-Access-to-New-Medicines-Report

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