The National Health Care Institute has advised the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) to reimburse bimekizumab (Bimzelx®) from the basic health care package. This medicinal product can be used in certain patients with psoriatic arthritis. This is a chronic disease with inflammations in the joints and skin. The reason for this advice was the placing of the medicinal product in the so-called ‘lock procedure for expensive medicinal products’.
Bimekizumab is intended for certain people with psoriatic arthritis
Bimekizumab is the active substance. The brand name is Bimzelx®. The medicine is an injection into the skin that can be self-administered with a pre-filled pen or syringe.
The medicinal product can be used for people with psoriatic arthritis. This is a chronic disease with inflammations in the joints and skin. In this case, chronic means that the disease does not go away. The disease occurs in some people with the skin disease psoriasis. In addition to inflammation in the skin, they also have inflammations in joints, tendons and connective tissues. The medicinal product can be used in the group of patients with psoriatic arthritis who have become unresponsive or who have an insufficient response to another medicinal product: TNF-alpha inhibitors. These medicinal products should reduce the inflammation.
Advice from the National Health Care Institute on the reimbursement of bimekizumab
The National Health Care Institute advises the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport to reimburse bimekizumab (Bimzelx®) from the basic health care package.
More information or questions?
If you have any questions about this advice, please send your question to the National Health Care Institute via warcg@zinl.nl. If you have questions about the reimbursement of a medicinal product, the personal expenses or whether you should pay a contribution, please ask your health insurance provider.
How did the advice come about?
The Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) asks the National Health Care Institute to carry out an assessment. The final decision as to whether or not reimbursement from the basic healthcare package will take place lies with the Minister.
Lock procedure for expensive medicinal products
The Minister has placed bimekizumab for this indication in the lock procedure for expensive medicinal products. A medicinal product in this lock procedure will not be eligible for reimbursement from the basic health care package until:
- there is a positive package advice from the National Health Care Institute;
- there are arrangements and safeguards for appropriateness in place;
- price reductions have been successfully negotiated with the manufacturer.
For more information, see the page ‘Lock procedure for expensive medicinal products’.