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Accessibility to targeted oncology drugs in Slovenia and selected European countries.

Kos M, Obradovic M, Mrhar A

Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Askerceva 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.

AIM: The aim of the study is to compare the accessibility to targeted oncology drugs in Slovenia and selected European countries. METHODS: Accessibility of targeted oncology drugs was assessed by using their sales data, expressed in mg per individual dying of the cancer for which the drug was indicated. RESULTS: The time of introduction of targeted oncology drugs in Slovenia was in most cases similar to the comparison countries, except for alemtuzumab and rituximab. The utilisation of targeted oncology drugs in Slovenia was in most cases lower than in other comparison countries. Ibritumomab had not been used in Slovenia until 2005, similar to France, Switzerland and UK. After 2003 the utilisation of trastuzumab in Slovenia started to rise substantially, approaching the average uptake in comparison countries. CONCLUSION: The utilisation of targeted oncology drugs in Slovenia was in most cases lower than in comparison countries.

Published 6 February 2008 in Eur J Cancer, 44(3): 408-18.
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