title: Diffusion of pharmaceuticals: cross-country evidence of anti-TNF drugs.
abstract: This article studies the diffusion of biopharmaceuticals across European countries, focusing on anti-TNF drugs, which are used to treat autoimmune diseases (e.g., rheumatism, psoriasis). We use detailed sales information on the three brands Remicade, Enbrel and Humira for nine European countries covering the period from the first launch in 2000 until becoming blockbusters in 2009. Descriptive statistics reveal large variations across countries in per-capita consumption and price levels both overall and at the brand level. We explore potential sources for the cross-country consumption differences by estimating several multivariate regression models. Our results show that large parts of the cross-country variation are explained by time-invariant country-specific factors (e.g., disease prevalence, demographics, health care system). We also find that differences in income [gross domestic product (GDP) per capita] and health spending (share of GDP) explain the cross-country variation in consumption, while relative price differences seem to have limited impact.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics, Helleveien 30, 5045, Bergen, Norway, kurt.brekke@nhh.no.
authors.forename: Kurt Richard
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Brekke
authors.forename: Dag Morten
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Dalen
authors.forename: Tor Helge
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Holmås
mesh_terms: D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D062313:Databases, Pharmaceutical; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
chemical_list: D055553:Prescription Drugs; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha