What if Europe’s “innovation wave” isn’t quite what we think it is?
In this bonus episode of Pharma minds’ Europe’s Access Dilemma, I speak with Dr. Sabine Vogler, health economist, Head of the Pharmacoeconomics Department at the Austrian National Public Health Institute (GÖG) and of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Policies in Vienna.
After five episodes looking at Europe’s access dilemma from the perspective of industry, research and consulting, this conversation brings in a very different voice: someone who advises policymakers and public payers.
We start with a fundamental question: what does access actually mean? Regulatory approval is only the beginning. A medicine also needs to be available and affordable.
From there, Sabine challenges some of the assumptions behind the current debate around pharma innovation, drug pricing and access in Europe:
◾️ Why a new medicine is not necessarily an innovative one
◾️ What evidence should really justify a higher price
◾️ Whether Europe could ever move towards a more coordinated pricing model
◾️ What confidential discounts mean for public payers
◾️ And whether industrial policy and innovation should really be financed through medicine prices
She also explains why horizon scanning could help European payers prepare much earlier for the medicines coming through the pipeline.
A bonus episode that doesn't necessarily give the same answers as the rest of the series — but asks some uncomfortable questions about what Europe is actually paying for, and how we define innovation in the first place.
👉To find Sabine Vogler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabine-vogler-8ba943254/
Resources mentioned in the episode:
📌 WHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Policies (GÖG, PPRI) : https://ppri.goeg.at/whocc
📌 Study on enhanced cross-country coordination in the area of pharmaceutical product pricing (European Commission, 2016): https://health.ec.europa.eu/latest-updates/study-enhanced-cross-country-coordination-area-pharmaceutical-product-pricing-2016-02-24_en
📌 Davis et al., BMJ 2017, cancer drugs approved by the EMA without clear evidence of survival or quality-of-life benefit: https://www.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmj.j4530
📌 International Horizon Scanning Initiative (IHSI): https://ncpe.ie/international-collaborations/international-horizon-scanning-initiative/
📌 Also cited: BeNeLuxA, the Nordic Pharmaceutical Forum, the European HTA regulation and its joint clinical assessments (JCA)
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Chapters:
00:00 — What does access to medicines really mean?
06:21 — How should Europe prioritise access to high-priced therapies?
11:13 — Could Europe move towards a single drug pricing model?
16:41 — Drug pricing and innovation: what’s changed in 20 years?
18:22 — Is Europe’s next innovation wave really coming?
21:08 — Should drug prices pay for industrial policy?
22:28 — What policies could improve access to medicines?
24:49 — Nathalie's conclusion
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