ArticleMedical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research2011
Access to biologic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.
Article in Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Defining and Measuring the Affordability of New Medicines: A Systematic Review.PharmacoEconomics · 2017Pooled it
- Induction of response with etanercept-methotrexate therapy in patients with moderately active rheumatoid arthritis in Central and Eastern Europe in the PRESERVE study.Clinical rheumatology · 2013Trial
- Accessibility of Biologic Drugs in Morocco: Comparison with FDA and EMA Approvals (2015-2025).Journal of market access & health policy · 2026Article
- Introduction of Biopharmaceuticals in Europe: A Cross-Sectional Study of Early Diffusion Patterns and Data Availability.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2025Article
- Economic assessment of potential changes to essential medicines for diabetes in Uganda.PloS one · 2025Article
- The inequity of global healthcare in pediatric rheumatology.Best practice & research. Clinical rheumatology · 2024Review
- Disease Activity, Inflammation Markers, and Quality of Life Are Associated with Muscle Strength in Croatian Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients-A National-Based Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Article
- Biosimilar competition in European markets of TNF-alpha inhibitors: a comparative analysis of pricing, market share and utilization trends.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Analysis of hematological parameters in rheumatoid arthritis patients receiving biological therapy: contribution to prevention of avoidable hematological complications.EXCLI journal · 2022Article
- Article
- Investigating diagnosis, treatment, and burden of disease in patients with ankylosing spondylitis in Central Eastern Europe and the United States: a real-world study.Clinical rheumatology · 2021Article
- Accessibility to biologics and its impact on disease activity and quality of life in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Kuwait.Clinical rheumatology · 2021Article
- Identifying Patient Access Barriers for Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Inhibitor Treatments in Rheumatoid Arthritis in Five Central Eastern European Countries.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2020Article
- Article
- Bulgarian rheumatology: science and practice in a cost-constrained environment.Rheumatology international · 2019Review
- Biological Therapies in Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: Can Biosimilars Reduce Access Inequities?Frontiers in pharmacology · 2019Review
- Article
- Delayed Treatment Acceleration in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Who Have Inadequate Response to Initial Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitors: Data from the Corrona Registry.American health & drug benefits · 2018Article
- Quality of Life and Cost Study of Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy With Biological Medicines.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors at 9 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe aim of this study was to assess and compare patients' access to biologic anti-RA drugs in selected Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and to analyze the determinants of differences between countries. MATERIAL/
methodsThis is a multi-country survey study, based on a combination of desk research and direct contact with national RA stakeholders. Data was collected using a pre-defined questionnaire. Affordability was measured using an affordability index, calculated comparing the index of health care expenditures to the price index, using Poland as an index of 1.
resultsThe percentage of patients on biologic treatment in 2009 was highest in Hungary (5% RA patients on biologic treatment), followed by Slovenia (4.5%), Slovakia (3.5%), Czech Republic (2.92%), Romania (2.2%), Estonia (1.8%), and Croatia, Serbia, Poland (below 1.5%). Infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab and rituximab were included in the reimbursement system in all countries, but abatacept and tocilizumab were included only in Slovakia. In Slovenia, public payer covered 75% of the price, and 25% is covered by supplementary health insurance; in Bulgaria public payer covered 50% of etanercept and adalimumab costs, and 75% of rituximab cost. In other countries, biologic drugs are reimbursed at 100%. Affordability index for biologic drugs was the lowest in Slovenia (0.4). In each country national guidelines define which patients are eligible for biologic treatment. Disease Activity Score (DAS28) of over 5.1 and failure of 2 or more disease-modifying anti-RA drugs, including methotrexate, are commonly used criteria.
conclusionsThe most important factors limiting access to biologic anti-RA treatment in the CEE region are macroeconomic conditions and restrictive treatment guidelines.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.