Innovative treatment, including modern medical procedures, has a major impact on the health of the population and prolongs and improves the lives of patients. Furthermore, the activities of innovative pharmaceutical companies contribute to the growth of the gross domestic product and promote employment. Through a wide range of their activities, these companies are helping to relieve the budgets of hospitals and health insurance companies. The unique study “Innovation for Life” maps the impact of innovative treatment on patients, the healthcare and social security system and the Czech economy.
POWER OF INNOVATIONS
Innovative treatment and modern medicinal products bring significant benefits and added value in three main areas: economic benefits (added value of innovative pharmaceutical companies in the Czech Republic), demographic benefits (added value of innovative therapies and medicinal products for demographic development) and social benefits (added socio-financial value thanks to improved quality of patients’ lives).
„More Czech patients will soon receive modern personalized treatment. However, medicinal products cannot be seen as a one-off expense, but rather as an investment. It is important to have a realistic view of the whole spectrum of expenses - not only healthcare expenses, but especially expenses in terms of the social security budget and pension insurance. We should be discussing this matter because we are in a transition period and the Czech healthcare system will undergo major changes,” says Mgr. Jakub Dvořáček, MHA, executive director of the Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry (AIFP).
Economic benefits
„The economic impact of the innovative pharmaceutical industry significantly increased between the years 2010 and 2018 in terms of both its contribution to the GDP and employment. With its activities and investments, the innovative pharmaceutical industry generates a total turnover of 42 billion Czech Crowns with a relatively high multiplier effect,“ said Ing. Miroslav Zámečník, a macroeconomist and a former member of the National Economic Council of the Government (NERV). The contribution of the innovative pharmaceutical industry is comparable to that of information technology, the production of chemicals and telecommunications.
„Innovative activities also have an impact on other stakeholders, such as hospitals, health insurance companies and the State Institute for Drug Control,“ says Jakub Dvořáček. Actual costs, discounts and support measures of innovative pharmaceutical companies represent an important supplementary source of their financing.
The innovative pharmaceutical industry also creates about 14.5 thousand jobs, and more are being created. Of these, more than 7,000 are direct jobs, another 7,000 are indirect jobs. The range of suppliers of AIFP member companies is also expanding; thanks to cooperation they can finance their activities and pay employees in transport, marketing or IT sectors.
Demographic benefits
From a demographic standpoint, modern treatment has contributed to prolonging and improving the quality of life. Personalized treatment has significantly increased life expectancy in recent years. The number of years of life saved in five therapeutic areas (multiple sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, breast cancer and prostate cancer) alone amounted to more than 27,000 years between 2012-2014 and 2015-2017.
„Multiple sclerosis is one of the examples. Early treatment leads to a slower progression of the disease. In recent years, patients, together with their physicians, have been able to actively decide on the type of treatment. This reduces the need for hospitalization and outpatient care. Almost all diagnoses show an increase in the number of hospitalizations lasting up to 1 week, and this category, in almost all diagnoses, shows an increase of over 50% of hospitalizations,” said prof. RNDr. Ladislav Dušek, Ph.D., director of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic.
Social benefits
Thanks to fewer and shorter hospitalizations, the number of patients able to return to the labor market has increased. People are more productive and create a higher value.
„During the years 2010-2017, the state saved at least 560 million Czech Crowns just on shorter hospitalizations and a lower number of disability pensions due to multiple sclerosis. The study has discovered similar savings in other areas of treatment as well. We must be able to calculate the impact of innovative treatment since it represents rather large sums,” says Jakub Dvořáček. Additional savings resulting from a lower need for disability pensions and shorter hospitalization in the nine analyzed therapeutic areas amount to nearly 5 billion Czech Crowns.
However, overall savings are probably higher because the presented calculation does not take into account all factors, such as savings associated with medicinal products used during hospitalization or savings resulting from the higher productivity of family members.
In conclusion
The study Innovation for Life shows that innovative medicinal products have a major impact on the demographic, social and economic area. It shows that innovative medicinal products represent an added value both for patients and for the social security and healthcare system in the Czech Republic.
„If all parameters, including legislation, are well set up and the effects of personalized treatment are regularly monitored, the budget will be able to handle the entry of innovative treatment into the Czech healthcare system, patients will receive new medicinal products in time and the pharmaceutical industry will generate additional economic benefits,” concludes Jakub Dvořáček .
