Italy pharma plans include drug agency

Italian Economics Minister Giulio Tremonti has been discussing, with thecountry's regional presidents, health care funding for the regions and the government's aims for more far-reaching reforms of the service.

The policy's emphasis, still at the draft stage, is on devolution, with more power for the health regions, more involvement by the private sector, intervention to contain spending and the grouping of the pharmaceuticals sector into a distinct and separate area of the budget. Substantial modifications to the health service legislation introduced by former Health Minister Rosy Bindi will be sought, and there is talk of establishing a drugs agency to monitor the pharmaceuticals sector.

The main health spending containment measures now being worked on are limited to the acquisition of pharmaceutical goods and services, with some emphasis on national benchmark prices. However, a separate drug sector budget seems likely, to focus more precisely on annual drug spending, while the planned drugs agency would be similar to those elsewhere in Europe which have taken over from Health Ministry drug departments. One aim of the agency would be to speed decisions on drug-related issues, while matters concerning spending on innovative and more costly drugs might be dealt with by a commission within the agency.