Do you know your way around the Lauer Taxe? – A quick-start help guide

Welcome back to the last article in the 3-part series on drug prices in Germany. This time, we are focusing on the Lauer Taxe and what you can find there. In detail, you will find out about:

As before, I have also suggested some further reading, if you want to dive deeper or missed the previous posts.

This post concludes the drug price series. Now that we understand the German prices inside out, we can focus on overall treatment costs next week.

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What can I find there?

The key information for each article is:

• Pharmaceutical central number (PZN)
• Article description
• Pack size and packing unit; therapy-appropriate / economical pack sizes (N-label); alternative quantities
• Legal information
• Dosage form
• ABDATA code for analysis and research
• Manufacturer sales price, pharmacy purchase and pharmacy sales price, RRP (recommended retail price), VAT rate, Reference price and co-payment information; Manufacturer discounts
• Regulations on prescriptions or OTC, etc.)
• References to the drug directive
• Detailed seller information
• Storage instructions, storage duration
• Pharmaceutical stock in accordance with § 15 ApBetrO
• Wholesalers with postal, e-mail and internet addresses as well as telephone and fax numbers in certain areas: z. B. Order acceptance, medical-scientific information (service lines)

The most important for us is probably the price data. On the price tab for a product (German: “Preis-Info”), you can find all different price definitions, alongside values of discounts and rebates.

The prices include the ex-manufacturer price, any mandatory rebates, the reference group price or the negotiated reimbursement price. Additionally, one can also find information on discount agreements and product characteristics, e.g. dispensing regulations or side effects and interactions.

Example of price data displayed in the Lauer Taxe

The picture above shows an example entry for the drug Jevtana. The most relevant entries are:

Header section

Here, we can find the price for 60 mg of the infusion solution. The Taxe-EK shows the pharmacy purchase price, and the Taxe-VK shows the pharmacy sales price.

Basis data (box in top left)

This box displays the manufacturer sales price (APU / HAP), and again the pharmacy sales and purchase prices.

In addition, it also shows the amount of VAT (German: “Mehrwertsteuer”), here 19%.

And lastly, we can find the data of the latest changes to this price. In this example, it is the 1st April 2014.

The G-BA has assessed Jevtana in an early benefit assessment. You can see from the Yes (“Ja”) under “Frühe Nutzenbewertung nach §35a SGB V (see below).

• As a result of this early benefit assessment for Jevtana, a reimbursement price was determined. This price is shown under “Erstattungsbetrag” (see below), and matches the manufacturer sales price.
• On the other hand, if a reference price would apply to this drug, then the “Festbetrag” shows this price.

Discounts for SHI funds

In the middle box on the left called “Krankenkassenrabatt”, we can find the mandatory discounts by the pharmacy (“Pflichtrabatt der Apotheke”) and by the manufacturer (“Pflichtrabatt des pharmazeutischen Unternehmers”). This box also shows whether the manufacturer made any additional agreements with the SHI funds (“Ja”). You can find the details of these by clicking on the ellipsis symbol.

List prices / Reimbursement price

The last box on the left displays the ex-manufacturer or list price (“Preis des pharmazeutischen Unternehmers (PpU)”), as well as the reimbursement price (“Erstattungsbetrag”).

Patient co-payments

The top right box called “Patientenanteile” shows the amount of any patient co-payment under “Zuzahlung”.

Reimbursement conditions for SHI funds

And lastly, the Lauer Taxe also notes any special reimbursement conditions. It shows, for example, if the drug

• is an OTC drug or lifestyle drug
• belongs to the negative list
• has any reimbursement restrictions or exclusions.

As mentioned above, we can see whether the drug has gone through an early benefit assessment.(Yes (“Ja”) under “Frühe Nutzenbewertung nach §35a SGB V).

Reference: https://webapo-info.lauer-fischer.de/

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Registering a drug with Lauer Taxe

The underlying database of the Lauer Taxe is the IFA database. This database covers information for drugs, including OTC and lifestyle drugs, medical devices and also remedies etc. In order for Lauer Taxe to list the information, the manufacturer or wholesaler has to submit the following information to the IFA:

• regulatory information, including the SPC
• completed form (Appendix B1 for drugs, Appendix B3 for medical devices) which details prices, packages sizes, storage information etc. This also includes legal information, such as whether it is an ATMP, orphan drug, a prescription or OTC drug, or a lifestyle drug, etc.

The IFA registration is considerably cheap. There is an annual fee of €50.00 to register the manufacturer. Then, there is a charge of €6.00 for every new product. Changing information for a registered product costs €3.00

The Lauer Taxe is updated twice a month, on 1. and 15. This ensures that it always reflects the latest information from the IFA database.

Reference: https://www.ifaffm.de/

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Further reading related to drug prices in Germany

• The four most important things to know about pricing in Germany
• Confused about drug prices in Germany? This post will help you gain clarity
• Pricing of generics
• The biggest SHI fund, the AOK, proposes an end to free pricing in Germany
• New government coalition plans AMNOG, pricing and other reforms

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