Advice - reimburse empagliflozin (Jardiance®) for treating Von Gierke disease and Fanconi-Bickel syndrome

The National Health Care Institute has advised the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) to extend the reimbursement conditions for empagliflozin (Jardiance®). This medicinal product can be used in certain patients with Von Gierke disease or Fanconi-Bickel syndrome. The medicinal product can also be used in certain patients with diabetes, cardiac failure and chronic kidney damage. If the minister adopts our advice, empagliflozin will also be included in the Medicine Reimbursement System (GVS) for Von Gierke disease and Fanconi-Bickel syndrome. Only then will this medicinal product be reimbursed from the health care insurer's basic health care package.

Empagliflozin is intended for certain people with Von Gierke disease or Fanconi-Bickel syndrome

The medicinal product can also be used in certain people with Von Gierke disease or Fanconi-Bickel syndrome. Von Gierke disease is also known as glycogen storage disease type Ib (GSD-Ib). Fanconi-Bickel syndrome is also known as glycogen storage disease type XI (GSD-XI). These are very rare hereditary metabolic diseases. Glycogen is a form of sugar. The human body needs this sugar and stores just as much of it as is required. In Von Gierke disease and Fanconi-Bickel syndrome, too much glycogen remains in the body. It accumulates in the organs, above all in the liver and kidneys. These organs may be damaged as a result. This can cause a wide variety of complaints.

Advice from the National Health Care Institute on the reimbursement of empagliflozin

The National Health Care Institute advises the Minister of VWS to reimburse empagliflozin (Jardiance®) from the basic healthcare package. The recommendation is that the medicinal product should also be included on List 1A of the GVS for Von Gierke disease and Fanconi-Bickel syndrome. Specific additional conditions apply for Jardiance®, known as the ‘List 2 conditions’.

For more information on the GVS and the Lists 1A, 1B and 2, see page ‘Reimbursement of extramural drugs (GVS)’.

Conditions for reimbursement of empagliflozin

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 Scientific Advisory Board advises the National Health Care Institute about the assessment. The Minister makes the final decision whether or not to reimburse the medication from the basic health care package.

Explanation about the reimbursement of medicinal products

Empagliflozin is an outpatient medicinal product. Outpatient means: medicines for home use that can be obtained at the pharmacy with a prescription from a physician. They are only reimbursed from the basic health care package if they are listed in the GVS.

This report is a summary of recommendations by the National Health Care Institute

The original text of this report is in Dutch.