Dutch patients waiting 21 months for new cancer treatments

Dutch cancer patients are having to wait almost two years for new treatments that have been approved by the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency to be brought onto the market.

The association for innovative medicine (VIG) said 48 out of 51 cancer treatments that were waiting for clearance in the Netherlands were already available to patients in Germany.

They include two treatments for multiple myeloma, also known as Kahler’s disease, a cancer of the bone marrow. The medicine has been shown to slow the progress of the disease and improve quality of life.

Cancer medicines take longer to reach patients in the Netherlands because they have to go through several extra regulatory steps designed to ensure value for money.

The Dutch government first compares new medicines with existing treatments to see if they offer better prospects for the patients and whether the difference justifies the price. If a medicine passes that test, the government begins negotiations to secure the best price.

On average it takes 655 days, or a year and nine months, for a drug to become available to patients in the Netherlands once the EMA has approved it.

Mark Kramer of the VIG said Germany was able to access medicines much faster because its authorities begin negotiations on price after the drug has been approved and have a six-month time limit.

“It reflects a trend that it’s taking longer and longer for medicines to become available,” he said. “We’re also seeing that price negotiations in the Netherlands are increasingly not producing an agreement.”