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US corona drug is said to have cured Trump: Germany secures drug for huge sums - but who pays?

2021-01-29T16:20:41.412Z


The federal government paid a full 400 million euros for two antibody drugs from the USA. The REGN-COV2 preparation is expected to cost 2,000 euros per dose.


The federal government paid a full 400 million euros for two antibody drugs from the USA.

The REGN-COV2 preparation is expected to cost 2,000 euros per dose.

  • Bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) from the US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Casirivimab / Imdevimab (REGN-COV2) from the US biotechnology company Regeneron - two antibody drugs against corona that are currently making headlines.

    The reason for this is the enormous sum that the German government has spent on 200,000 doses of the drugs: around 400 million euros.

  • The antibodies Bamlanivimab and REGN-COV2, which contains two monoclonal antibodies (REGN10933 and REGN10987), recognize the section of the spike protein with which Sars-CoV-2 docks to human cells, according to the Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung.

    The antibodies bind to the spike protein on coronaviruses, preventing the virus from docking and invading cells.

    The catch: The drugs are not yet approved in the EU and do not help everyone *.

  • The REGN-COV2 agent, which is also said to be responsible for ex-President Donald Trump's recovery, costs around 2,000 euros per dose, as Deutsche Welle informs as the international broadcaster of the Federal Republic of Germany.

    But the health insurance companies don't want to pay.

In Germany, the billing of medically prescribed drugs and therapies is usually done by the health insurances if the therapies are recognized and approved.

But the new antibody drugs from the USA, which the federal government bought despite the lack of approval in the European Union, harbor potential for conflict.

It has not (yet) been regulated how treating doctors and clinics can bill for the use of the novel preparations.

The picture investigated the question of who bears the costs if the drug REGN-COV2 is administered as a patient.

The Association of Health Insurance Funds (GKV) gives a clear statement:

"Since the federal government has bought the drug, it seems plausible to us that they will pay for it." A dose is supposed to cost 2,000 euros.

As Deutsche Welle informs, the price of antibody preparations is so high because they are very difficult to produce.

According to the picture, the manufacturers have to work with living cells and need highly specialized and expensive systems for this.

Antibody drug REGN-COV2 for mild to moderate corona courses

As the pharmaceutical index "Yellow List" informs, the antibody drugs Bamlanivimab and Casirivimab / Imdevimab received emergency approval in the USA for the treatment of mild to moderate Covid-19 in adults and pediatric patients (twelve years and older with a weight of at least 40 Kilogram).

The patients eligible for therapy would also have to have tested positive for corona and have a high risk of severe disease

.

These include people who are very overweight, diabetic and people older than 65 years.

(jg) * Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network.

More sources: https://www.deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de/news/artikel/2020/11/23/usa-zulassung-fuer-erste-sars-cov-2-antikoerpertherapie;

https://www.deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de/news/artikel/2020/10/12/regenerons-antikoerpercocktail-regn-cov2-erreich-virologische-schluesselendpunkt

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Source: merkur

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