Systemic Lupus Eryhtematosus (What Market Access Levers and Barriers Will Emerging Biologics for SLE Face in Europe?) | Physician & Payer Forum | EU5 | 2014
In 2011, GlaxoSmithKline’s Benlysta became the first biological treatment ever approved for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the first drug approved for SLE in more than 50 years. However, its uptake in the cost-constrained EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) has been tempered by its relatively high price in a largely generic market, coupled with physician perception of modest efficacy, slow onset of action, and inability to be used in patients with severe, life-threatening organ involvement. In the United Kingdom, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) does not sanction Benlysta’s use for SLE. Several other premium-priced biologics are also in late-stage development for SLE, but thus far, their demonstrated effect on disease activity has not been significantly different from that of Benlysta, resulting in difficult pricing and reimbursement negotiations following ever-more-stringent health technology assessments in all five countries. Decision Resources’ European Physician & Payer Forum—What Market Access Levers and Barriers Will Emerging Biologics for SLE Face in Europe? A Study of EU5 Prescribers and Payers report explores how physicians and payers plan to accommodate the entry of novel, premium-priced SLE biologics against a backdrop of tightening budgets and increasingly aggressive cost-containment measures.