Gesundheit Österreich was commissioned by the Global AMR R&D Hub to conduct a study to inform national policy makers about options in addressing novel antibiotic and diagnostic pricing, reimbursement and purchasing. The study aimed in particular to identify and assess policy options which can incentivise producers to invest in the production of novel antibiotics and diagnostics and thus contribute to enhancing access and universal health coverage. The study was published in March 2021.
AMR HT have special characteristics and challenges which are not fully captured by standard pricing, reimbursement and procurement policies. Specific policies may be able to meet some of the special characteristics of AMR HT. The study worked with 10 prefilled country factsheets that were sent for validation to country experts from different pricing, reimbursement and procurement authorities.
The study identified 16 specific policies for reimbursement, pricing and procurement; they categorize into exemptions (from cost-containment), modifications (of existing methods and policies) and additions (additional funding). Some of these specific policy options are promising to be able to incentivize innovation in AMR HT.
For further reading: https://ppri.goeg.at/sites/ppri.goeg.at/files/inline-files/GOe_FP_AMR_Report_final.pdf and News – Global AMR R&D Hub (globalamrhub.org).