Drug basket committee's decision: 141 drugs and technologies added for a budget of NIS 500 million

Hundreds of thousands of citizens accepted the drug basket committee's decision, and while for some it was joyous news - many others were disappointed. The 750 medical labels in which dozens of treatments, technologies and medicines were rejected by the committee with a heavy heart compared to the introduction of 141 labels. The choice was taken into account in the limited budget - NIS 500 million - through which they had to choose from the best treatments for as many citizens as possible. This is similar in scope to previous years - but less than they wanted in the basket committee and less than patients want. The result: Many patients will be left without funding for their medication.
 The most expensive treatment to be subsidized: a breakthrough drug to prevent millions of shekels of blindness to the patient. This year, various treatments for cancer, diabetes, mental health, gynecology and more have been abandoned.
The committee announced this morning that 141 drugs and technologies were added to the basket this year for more than 210,000 patients, with a total cost of NIS 500 million (of which NIS 39 million is part of treatment funding commitments introduced in previous years). The recommendations were submitted this morning to Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and presented at a press conference in Jerusalem.
The most expensive drug is Lockestrone for the prevention of blindness, at a cost of NIS 2.859 million per patient. This is a one-time, breakthrough treatment. Other drugs that will be added to the basket: treatments for various cancers, advanced diabetic treatments, measles prevention vaccines, and Crohn's therapy and a newborn diagnosis of Duchenne.
The discussions highlighted a number of rare disease therapies that sparked a professional discourse that sometimes surfaced into emotional and social streaks, which members could not ignore. Walla! NEWS has assembled four stories of patients expected to begin treatment this year, and two to continue waiting, hoping they can get a drug that may extend, benefit or, in fact, save their lives.
Among the drugs and technologies that will be added to the state health basket:
- Advanced Treatments for Diabetics: Flash Monitoring Technology for Children with Type 1 Diabetes, Continuous Adult Sugar Monitoring Meter with Type 1 Diabetes, Advanced Drugs from SGLT2 Group for Type 2 Diabetes
- Measles to prevent measles outbreak (measles-rubella vaccines) for adults
- New cervical cancer prevention vaccine for nine papilloma virus strains (instead of four vaccine strains today) for girls and boys in eighth grade
- Breakthrough gene therapy to prevent blindness
- Comprehensive molecular profile tests that allow customized drug therapy for NSCLC lung cancer patients
- Survey tests for all newborns to diagnose Duchenne disease
- Breakthrough treatment of complex fistulas for Crohn's patients
- Helmet treatment in electric fields for brain cancer patients (Option)
- Many cancers, including biological and immunotherapy, for breast, lung, skin, head, neck, thyroid, colon, ovarian, leukemia, lymphoma and specific tumors with NTRK gene fusion and reorganization for all new treatments for metastatic kidney cancer
- Extension of cervical cancer screening (Pap Surgery) for women as early as age 25 to 55 (now age 30)
- New medicines for preventing heart disease and stroke for various patients at risk, including innovative cholesterol-lowering drugs in certain labels
- New treatments for lung disease - severe eosinophilic asthma, pulmonary fibrosis and COPD as well as psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, asthma, HIV, venous thrombosis and rheumatoid arthritis
- Survey of Ashkenazi women for mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that increase breast and ovarian cancer risk
- Prevention of HIV infection for adults at risk of infection (PrEP)
- Lung rehabilitation for lung transplants and lung transplant candidates
- Breakthrough treatment for a clinical depression resistant to existing treatments
- Medical foods of various kinds for children and adults, including cancer patients at risk of malnutrition
- Rare Diseases: Hereditary Angioedema, Muscular Dystrophy, Cushing's Syndrome, Cystnosis, Bile Tract CTX, and ITP Biologic Medicines Without Splenectomy
- Innovative corsets for children with scoliosis for various reasons
- Completion of the hearing aid financing reform for the general population (NIS 3000 refund on purchase of device every 3.5 years)
Option - The helmet for treating brain cancer using electric fields, was one of the committee's surprises. After not going through the marathon phase last year, no arguments were raised against the current round. This is a treatment that cost about NIS 150,000 and is intended for 148 patients. Its total cost - about NIS 20 million. "It's a disease that has no breakthroughs. It's a technology that works in a completely different way. 20% survival after four years is at least as good as other oncology drugs we raised," said one of the companies at a hearing yesterday.
Prep - the antidote for HIV infection, was also considered the surprise of the year. In the first phase of the debates, controversial statements were raised against her, as first published in Walla! NEWS. "If I was in Botswana I would give it a high rating," said one friend at the time. "If we approve it, there could be complete freedom here," said another. It is a drug that costs NIS 2,106 and is intended for about 3,000 people in Israel. Its total cost is estimated at just over NIS 6 million.