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At the ISPOR Europe 2022 summit, which focuses on health economics and held in Vienna this year, real-life data and health economics analyzes were discussed. Participating in the summit, the research company based in Turkey, with offices in Estonia and Tunisia, shared important data on issues such as health expenditures and access to oncology drugs in the country.

*** This release is originally published in Turkish.

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ISTANBUL (TR) - The leaders of the global health sector recently gathered in Vienna. ISPOR Europe 2022, which brings together the world's leading health professionals to facilitate decision-making processes in the health market and talk about the latest trends in health, was held in Vienna this year. In the event, which hosted more than 2,000 professionals from the public, academia and private sectors, the participants shared their work through more than a thousand posters. ECONiX Research, which conducts research and provides consultancy services in the field of health, also took part in the event with 19 posters.

ECONiX Research Management Team Member Dr. Güvenç Koçkaya said, “We offer comprehensive insights into the healthcare market in Turkey, Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Western Asia through real-life data analysis. We attended the ISPOR Europe 2022 summit with 19 posters covering countries such as Ukraine as well as Turkey. Our studies focusing on diabetes, cardiology, nephrology, hematology and oncology were shared with the participants at the event where professionals from all over the world came. As ECONiX Research, we have confirmed our role as a bridge between companies, the public and academia in the international arena with our Estonia and Tunisia offices.”

13 billion TL budget surplus in health expenditures in 2021

The research on health expenditures compiled from the publicly available data of the Social Security Institution (SSI) and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance was among the posters presented at the summit. According to the study, it was seen that the number of applications to hospitals decreased by 35% in 2020 compared to 2019, and increased by 20% in 2021. In addition, last year, it was seen that the budget allocated by the SSI for health services increased by 38% compared to 2020. Pointing out that three years of data were examined within the scope of the study and the results shed light on the course of health expenditures in the post-global epidemic period, Dr. Güvenç Koçkaya said, “When the health expenditures and the premiums collected by the SSI are analyzed, it is seen that there were 11 billion TL, 27 billion TL and 13 billion TL budget surpluses in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. This shows that health expenditures in Turkey have increased compared to the pandemic," he said.

The cost of premature deaths reaches 100 thousand liras

Among the studies presented to health professionals from various parts of the world, the poster estimating the impact of premature deaths on the Turkish economy came to the fore. Within the scope of the study, in which indicators such as population distribution, employment compliance, school enrollment age, years of education, retirement age, unemployment rate are evaluated annually, it has been found that premature deaths are reflected in the country's economy as a loss over the estimated economic value that a citizen produces for his country over a lifetime. Underlining that losing a citizen at the age of 10 is reflected in the national economy as a loss of more than 763 thousand TL, ECONiX Research Management Team Member Dr. Güvenç Koçkaya said, “Early deaths correspond to economic losses. In order to minimize premature deaths, it is necessary to carry out studies by the public sector and to focus on the diseases that cause these deaths.

Only 36 of 106 oncology drugs are covered

Participating in the ISPOR Europe 2022 event with 19 different posters, the research company's remarkable work included a report on access to oncology drugs. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that there are 116 personalized oncology drugs in the lists of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). While it was observed that only 63 of these drugs could be accessed from Turkey, it was determined that the number of drugs with license approval was 43, and the number of drugs allowed for sale to patients was 20. Underlining that Turkish citizens do not have access to 70 drugs approved by FDA and EMA, ECONiX Research Management Team Member Dr. Birol Tibet made his evaluations with the following statements: “Of the 116 drugs in question, only 30 of the oncology drugs approved by the Turkish Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, and only 30 of the drugs that are not licensed and imported by the Turkish Pharmacists' Association with patient-based permission within the scope of foreign drugs, are only available. 6 of them are covered by the refund. In other words, Turkey has access to only 36 out of 116 personalized oncology drugs for its citizens within the scope of reimbursement.”