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Category:
Insurance
News /
Medical Schemes /
Discovery Health
/ February 2007
Pfizer and Discovery reach agreement to
make cholesterol drug affordable
South Africa’s largest private
healthcare funder, Discovery Health, and one of the world’s leading
pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer, have reached an agreement that
will make the cholesterol drug Lipitor more affordable for South
Africans.
 Pfizer
has agreed to drop the single exit price (SEP) for 10mg strength of
Lipitor. In turn, Discovery Health has agreed to raise its Chronic
Disease Amount on its Comprehensive plans to cover Lipitor 10mg in
full – as long as members obtain the drug from a pharmacy that
charges Discovery members a 26%/R26 dispensing fee.
According to Jonathan Broomberg, head
of strategy and health policy at Discovery Health, members of
Discovery Health Medical Scheme who are on one of the Comprehensive
plans will not be subject to any co-payments at the more than 80
pharmacies countrywide that charge Discovery members the 26%/R26
dispensing fee.
The new pricing structure will be
effective from 9 February 2007.
Those who purchase Lipitor 10mg at
other pharmacies will be subject to a co-payment, but this will be
significantly lower than before, at approximately R22.
“This is a positive and proactive step
by Pfizer to help us meet the challenge of making world-class
medical care available to more South Africans,” says Broomberg.
“This is a classic case of a large healthcare funder and a leading
drug manufacturer using their scale to the benefit of all
consumers.”
Says Broomberg: “While Discovery Health
members will benefit from the lower price and the comprehensive
cover we are now offering, the agreement makes Lipitor more
affordable for all South Africans.”
The move by Discovery Health and Pfizer
follows a similar agreement reached between Discovery Health and
Schering-Plough late last year, to reduce the price of the
anti-inflammatory drug for rheumatoid arthritis, Revellex.
Schering-Plough reduced the cost of
Revellex by 17.5% from the 1st of November 2006 and initiated a
waste management programme to reduce the cost of treatment which
allowed Discovery to drop the requirement that members pay for 20%
of the cost of the drug for all Revellex treatments.
Revellex is a biologic drug
manufactured by Schering-Plough and used mainly to ease the symptoms
and stop the progression of rheumatoid arthritis.
Broomberg says it is encouraging to see
large pharmaceutical companies working with Discovery to make drugs
more affordable. “In two instances now we have seen manufacturers
cut the price of drugs, against a backdrop of an overall 5% rise in
the single exit price for drugs,” he says. “We look forward to
announcing similar agreements in future.”
Source: ITInews – Insurance
Times and Investments Online
www.itinews.co.za
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