NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[flipper44]

Red.


I think you are right. The barrier to entry in Europe is much higher for those trying to follow in the footsteps of NWBO.

On a pricing note, I think the following passage from NWBO's PR is important.

NW Bio also announced today that the German reimbursement authority (Institut Fur Das Entgeltsystem Im Krankenhaus, or InEK) has determined that DCVax-L treatments for glioma brain cancers are eligible to obtain reimbursement from the Sickness Funds (health insurers) of the German healthcare system. Applications for such reimbursement eligibility may only be submitted to InEK by German hospitals, not by a company. Six major hospital centers across Germany applied for such reimbursement eligibility for DCVax-L for glioma brain cancers. The amount and terms for such reimbursement will now be negotiated by NW Bio, the hospitals and the Sickness Funds over the coming months, and will be applied to patients case by case. In the meantime, patients may self-pay for DCVax-L.

-- NWBO


The amount and terms for reimbursement is much more than can be reflected in this particular PR because there was so much else to share. In a nutshell, they are working on a German price point for DCVAX-L (I think they already know the ballpark figure), and that price-point will then be used by the rest of Europe to determine the cost of treatment within each country in the European Union. Germany is the keystone for European medication pricing, and recent legislation makes this determination even more transparent. From knowledge that was shared to me by a couple pharmacists, it is my understanding the other countries take the German price-point and recalibrate it for their own countries using GDP and a number of smaller metrics to arrive at their final price -- and insurance coverage.

So the next couple months will provide us far more detail regarding the future cost for patients and the revenue projections after costs for NWBO.