Who makes and what are the best-selling birth control and Prep pills?
Aifa has approved the free birth control pills for women of all ages and for Prep, or pre-exposure prophylaxis against the HIV virus. How much do they cost and which are the companies that produce them? Facts, numbers and comments
On April 21, the day in which women's health is celebrated, the Price and Reimbursement Committee (CPR) of the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa) approved the free use of both the contraceptive pill for women of all ages and the Prep , or pre-exposure prophylaxis against the HIV virus.
The decision to make oral contraceptives free will cost the State about 140 million euros a year, while for the Prep programs it is estimated that the cost is around a few hundred thousand euros.
ACT BEFORE THE AIFA REFORM
These two issues, the president of the CPR, Giovanna Scroccaro explained to Quotidiano Sanità , had "for some time been in the attention of the agency", which "wanted to complete them before the deadline".
In fact, the end of the mandate and also of AIFA as we know it is expected for the summer. The reform desired by the Meloni government is preparing, among other things, to merge the CPR and the Technical-Scientific Commission (CTS), which currently have ten members each, into a single Scientific and Economic Commission (CSE) of only ten members.
WHICH BIRTH CONTROL PILLS WILL BE FREE
Although the free contraceptive pill was already provided for by law number 405 of 1975 and also extended to minors without parental consent by law 194 of 1978, so far only in Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Puglia and the autonomous province of Trento this right was guaranteed in part, i.e. only to certain categories.
To make contraception free throughout Italy, Scroccaro said that, within 3 categories of contraceptive drugs, "the least expensive products have been evaluated, identified and divided by 'generation'".
HOW MUCH DO BIRTH CONTROL PILLS COST
Compared to other European countries , in Italy, in addition to not having a long tradition of pregnancy planning (AIFA says so), it is believed that many women do not resort to the contraceptive pill precisely because of their cost, which can range from less than 5 euros for the 'older' ones and single figures ranging between 14 and 20 euros a month for the latest generation ones.
But as there has never been any price bargaining for these products, according to Scroccaro, "it is difficult to say […] that a 25 euro pill is better than those that cost 10 euros".
Furthermore, making the pill free means that AIFA can negotiate prices for the state and therefore the cost of supporting public pharmaceutical expenditure is reduced.
BEST SELLING
There isn't one pill that's better than the others since every woman is recommended by her doctor based on her own characteristics, blood tests and any cardiovascular risk factors, however, statistically speaking, according to The Wom , at the moment the most used pill in the world world, with 150 million packages sold, is Yasmin (17.40 euros), created by the German pharmaceutical company Schering, which was acquired by Bayer in 2006.
Schering was the first to launch a contraceptive pill in Europe in 1961 under the name of Anovlar and has also developed Yaz (18.10 euros) and Yasminelle (17.80 euros), now marketed by Bayer, which is the leading company in the field. In fact, Microgynon, Dianette, Qlaira are also his.
FOR WHOM THE PREP WILL BE FREE
As regards, however, the Prep, it will be free only for people at risk of contracting the disease before exposure to the infection and, as explained by Scroccaro, "it will be distributed through hospitals with a prescription from the infectious disease specialist, it will not be therefore available in the pharmacy and to have it there must be an evaluation by a specialist ".
“The decision to make it free – he added – was easier: the price paid by the hospitals that buy these drugs has a minimal impact on spending, of a few hundred thousand euros. But since there is now important evidence that demonstrates how it can make a great contribution in terms of infection prevention, and if we also think about how important pharmaceutical spending is for antiretrovirals, we are making an investment in terms of health".
In fact, according to data from the UN, UNAIDS and WHO, if taken correctly, prophylaxis offers close to 100% protection from infection.
DRUGS FOR PREP
The medicines made free for the Prep are those based on tenofovir and emtricitabine. Until now, pre-exposure prophylaxis cost between 60 and 80 euros per package, depending on the choice of the original product (Truvada from the US Gilead) or the generic drug.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/chi-produce-e-quali-sono-le-pillole-anticoncezionali-e-per-la-prep-piu-vendute/ on Mon, 24 Apr 2023 09:22:31 +0000.