About Slovenia
Slovenia is a CSEE country located at the crossroads of the main European cultural and trade routes. It gained independence in 1991, has been a member of the EU since 2004 and is developing at a rapid pace. Slovenia adopted the euro as its currency when it joined the Eurozone.
Slovenia is home to our headquarters, its centralized logistics hub and 185 of its 310 employees in the region. It is from Slovenia that we coordinate compliance, quality, regulatory, pharmacovigilance and market access, which are additionally supported on local level.
Slovenian pharma market
We’ve been operating in the Slovenian market since 1989 and during these 29 years, we have gained extensive experience and expertise and built strong, professional relationships with HCPs and key health stakeholders. We have a strong presence in both the retail and hospital business sectors.
Today, we are among the top five pharmaceutical companies in Slovenia’s 683 million euro pharma market. The usage of high-value prescription medicines is increasing and, currently, they account for approximately a third of all medicines sold in 2017.
The value of the pharma market in Slovenia is steadily growing, mainly due to the implementation of innovative therapies.
Health insurance system
Slovenia has a social health insurance system with a single public insurer, the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia (HIIS), providing universal compulsory health insurance. While public financing remains the primary source of health system resources (71%), private funding now accounts for 29% of total health expenditure (patients 15%; private insurance 14%), which is slightly above the EU average of 27%.
The Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of Slovenia determines the prices of Rx medicines in Slovenia. These are calculated based on prices set in three reference countries ‒ Austria, France and Germany, and are recalculated biannually, in March and September.
The reimbursement procedure
The reimbursement procedure in Slovenia usually takes around 12 months and is governed by HIIS. Price constraints and cost cuts apply. The entrance barrier through health insurance remains accessible, which means that more expensive medicines are also eligible for reimbursement.
Medis finding innovative market access solutions
Medis has a proven track record of finding innovative market access solutions. Some of the latest reimbursement success stories include:
- Reimbursement for an orphan medicine, the first treatment approved for the underlying cause of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. We are very proud that we managed to draw the attention of HIIS to this debilitating disease and promptly arranged availability for patients in need. Medis’ purpose is to support patients and families living with rare disorders through their journey. We are aware that every day matters and we are committed to making a difference.
- Reimbursement of the first and currently only approved therapeutic option for treatment of severe keratitis in patients with dry eye disease. At Medis, patients are at the centre of everything we do and since this is the only treatment option, we wanted to make the reimbursement process as short as possible. We succeeded with acceptance to reimbursement list in record time after file submission and with targeted price.
- During the negotiation process for a prescription biologic medication that prevents inflammation due to an overactive immune system, we managed to get reimbursement and get support from HIIS in getting preferred status for this medicine in its class.
After we build a comprehensive local market access strategy, we perform the following steps:
- Effectively communicate compelling value to stakeholders.
- Adapt the global value dossier to country specific submission documents.
- Negotiate better pricing and reimbursement.
- Secure accelerate approval and maintain effective pricing and reimbursement solutions.
