Diffusion of Pharmaceuticals: cross-country evidence of anti-TNF drugs

This article studies the diffusion of biopharmaceuticals across European countries, focusing on anti-TNF drugs, which are used to treat autoimmune diseases (e.g., rheumatism, psoriasis). We use detailed sales information on the three brands Remicade, Enbrel and Humira for nine European countries cov...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The European journal of health economics 2014-12, Vol.15 (9), p.937-951
Main Authors: Brekke, Kurt Richard, Dalen, Dag Morten, Holmås, Tor Helge
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autoimmune Diseases - drug therapy
Average prices
Brands
Consumer economics
Consumer prices
Databases, Pharmaceutical
Diffusion of Innovation
Economic Policy
Europe
Funding
Gross domestic product
Health care economics
Health Care Management
Health Economics
Health expenditures
Humans
Income
Marketing
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original Paper
Pharmaceutical preparations
Pharmacoeconomics and Health Outcomes
Prescription Drugs - economics
Prescription Drugs - supply & distribution
Public Finance
Public Health
Regression Analysis
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - antagonists & inhibitors
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Summary:This article studies the diffusion of biopharmaceuticals across European countries, focusing on anti-TNF drugs, which are used to treat autoimmune diseases (e.g., rheumatism, psoriasis). We use detailed sales information on the three brands Remicade, Enbrel and Humira for nine European countries covering the period from the first launch in 2000 until becoming blockbusters in 2009. Descriptive statistics reveal large variations across countries in per-capita consumption and price levels both overall and at the brand level. We explore potential sources for the cross-country consumption differences by estimating several multivariate regression models. Our results show that large parts of the crosscountry variation are explained by time-invariant country-specific factors (e.g., disease prevalence, demographics, health care system). We also find that differences in income [gross domestic product (GDP) per capita] and health spending (share of GDP) explain the cross-country variation in consumption, while relative price differences seem to have limited impact.
ISSN:1618-7598
1618-7601
DOI:10.1007/s10198-013-0536-6