The widening of the gap between the “pharmaceutical Euro exchange rate” determined by the Ministry of Health and the actual exchange rate causes the pharmacy shelves to become empty.
“THE SOLUTION, MORE THAN UPDATES TO MEDICATION PRICES”
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca answered the questions of members of the press after the Cabinet Meeting held the previous day.
Upon the question of the latest situation regarding Covid-19 and other epidemics, Koca said, "The number of patients presenting with upper respiratory tract complaints has increased. These diseases are mostly RSV, followed by influenza, rhinovirus and Covid, respectively. People with upper respiratory tract symptoms should wear a mask and mix with normal life. Whatever the disease is, one should take care not to spread it."
Reminding the news that patients could not find some drugs in pharmacies, Koca said, "This is the most important issue on our agenda. We will solve the problems. Costs have increased. We have a roadmap for the solution. It is not right to increase drug prices once a year. We are of the opinion that it should be at least twice in certain periods. However, I must state that the number of patients and prescriptions increased by 40 percent during this period. Therefore, in this period, patient density, the high number of prescriptions, the intensity of consumption of certain drugs, and the existence of raw material problems in the world are important reasons. In addition, the expectation of a raise over the Euro rate average of the previous year, which will be held in February, increases this problem even more. There may be more than one update during the year, we're discussing that. It won't take long."
"THE ISSUE WITH CHILDREN WITH SMA IS NOT THE COST OF MEDICINE"
Koca answered the question about state support for the treatment of children with SMA as follows:
"I insist that the issue with children with SMA is definitely not the cost of the drug. We already give all children the drug with the active ingredient nusinersen, whose effectiveness has been proven. In cases where this drug cannot be used, we are now introducing a second oral drug for children with spinal problems. Our SMA Science Board will meet in the coming weeks. Our SMA Scientific Committee follows the issue of gene therapy very closely. We will never hesitate to give this treatment if there is sufficient evidence of its effectiveness."