ECJ ruling could give the Health Minister a bad headache

The drug makers, who have been long fighting for a more transparent regime, have been encouraged by a recent European Court of Justice ruling, which said any decision on whether to put a drug on the reimbursement list should be made on a case-by-case basis, be communicated to the company complete with a full justification by the health minister, and be subject to appeal. However, in Poland these decisions have so far been taken on the say-so of the health minister, in clear breach of EU law, says Ernest Jedrzejewski of law firm Salans. Poland spends zl.6-7 billion a year on drug reimbursement,. The health ministry had no comment yesterday on the likely impact of the litigation. (Puls Biznesu, p. 1, 4-5) R.M.