Belgium
Belgium is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. There are 3 official languages: Dutch, French and German.
Belgian health care is generally accessible and affordable and is among the highest quality in Europe and in the world. The basis for good accessibility and affordability is a system of compulsory health insurance through health insurance funds, mainly financed by compulsory social contributions from employees and employers.
Healthcare budget
$55 billion
Inhabitants
11.6 million
GDP per capita
$49.913
Currency
Euro
World Ranking
GDP 24th
Belgian Healthcare
According to a report by Health Consumer Powerhouse, a think tank that has been comparing all European healthcare systems since 2005, Belgium’s health care is the fifth best in Europe. The latest report showed improvement in the Belgian healthcare system, as the country rose in rank from 8th to 5th place this year.
One of Belgium’s strongest points is its accessible health care and the fact that patients are taken care of quickly.
Spending on health care in Belgium amounted to 41,7 billion dollars in 2014, or 10,4% of GDP. This is 1,4% higher than the OECD average and 1,1% higher than the European average. This puts Belgium in 7th place in Europe. With regard to spending per capita, Belgium scores 4522 dollars higher than the OESE average of 3.683 dollars, but it does not reach the European top 10. Since 2009, the trend is stabilized around 10% of GDP
Pharmaceutical Environment
Pharmaceuticals represent approximately 10% of the total healthcare budget. The prices of cancer drugs in particular cause an increase in pharmaceutical costs.
Between 2005 and 2015, the market share of generic drugs doubled in size from 17% to 35%. Nevertheless the use of generic medicines in Belgium is still low compared to many other EU countries, such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands.
In Belgium there is a 2-step approach in getting your pharmaceutical reimbursed. First of all a price has to be agreed, after that the reimbursement process starts. This will take at least 190 days, and can be a complicated procedure without the right expertise.
Todays challenges
Like in most western European countries, the government wants to reduce healthcare costs in general. Reducing costs for pharmaceuticals are often seen as an “easy” way to success. So the pressure on prices is high.
The Belgian experts
Gert van Alewijk and Bauke Buwalda
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Services
Sales and Marketing
Entering the European market is not easy. 44 countries with different healthcare systems. What is your strategy? Apart from the Big-5, what do you do with the other 28 countries? We offer a solution for 28 countries. Sales and marketing is our core business.
Learn moreDistribution
We manage, through our logistic partners with their regional warehouses, the distribution to our region (28 countries). They have the capability to handle the most demanding of specialized product order management, storage, handling and distribution requirements.
Learn moreEarly Market Research
You know that market research is critical. It provides customer insights, competitive intelligence, behavioural tendencies, and product positioning. And market research increasingly is becoming an important component for linking R&D and marketing teams.
Learn moreMarket Access
Achieving reimbursement and getting the right price are the 2 most important drivers for a successful launch of an innovative pharmaceuticals in our part of Europe. Health Authorities in any European country decide individually based on their local regulations, policies, framework, social values and available health care budget.
Learn moreMarket Authorisation
Unlike other regions, in the EU a number of options is available to obtain a marketing authorisation. Centralised at the European Medicines Agency in Amsterdam or decentralised with the individual competent authorities of the member states, each marketing authorisation application procedure has its pros and cons. In the case of Switzerland, it has its own regulatory authority, Swissmedic, and processes.
Learn morePharmacovigilance
Pharmacovigilance is the science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other medicine-related problem.
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