A recent investigation revealed how Albanian citizens are suffering financial losses through the exclusion of drugs from the list of reimbursement. To illustrate the abuse, the publication cited the example of the drug Xarelto. By preventing the reimbursement of cheaper generics, Xarelto costs Albanian patients at least 2.5 million euros more each year.

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However, Xarelto is not the only drug excluded from the reimbursement list, leading to exorbitant prices. In the case of drugs for neoplastic diseases, the financial damage is even greater.

One such drug is Abiraterone 500 mg. Currently, the Albanian state reimburses this drug at 1901 euros per box, while the price of newer alternatives that have been released on the market in the last two years has decreased to 726 euros. The difference of 1175 euros per box is unfairly burdening Albanian citizens through their taxes, benefiting the importing company Rejsi Farma.

For the drug Sunitinib 50 mg, the current reimbursement price is 3532 euros per box. However, the prices of newer alternatives reach 550 euros, i.e. 3000 euros less per box. This money, which could be saved and used to expand reimbursement options for citizens, ends up unfairly with the exclusive importer of the drug Sunitinib, the company Megapharma.

Dozens of such cases exist. Pazopanib, Formadozen, Ivabrabine, Ramipril, Leflunomide are just a few examples. These drugs remain the only options on the reimbursement list, costing citizens millions of extra euros due to their exclusion from the list.

Albania is the only country in the Balkans that has not included new drugs in the reimbursement list for three years, despite the fact that the law obliges the government to update it annually. This not only entails unjustifiably high costs for the budget, but also deprives citizens of new therapeutic options that have been released in the last three years.

The Ministry of Health continues to exclude the list of medicines without providing an official explanation, unofficially claiming a lack of resources.