Jose Manuel Rigueiro, general manager of the Spanish affiliate of Actelion, discusses the lack of trust between health authorities and the industry and the challenges of launching new orphan drugs in such a fragmented healthcare system. He highlights the successful launch of Uptravi® and his commitment to avoid business disruption during the complex integration process following J&J’s USD 30 billion acquisition of the Swiss company.
These are exciting times for Actelion. Last year the company was acquired by Johnson and Johnson. How is this integration process going in Spain?
"Big hurdles in the reimbursement process are also the 17 autonomous health systems as well as the hospitals. Even if the regions approve the drug and agree on the reimbursement, the hospitals may think differently. This is why Spain is essentially an ‘access’ market, meaning that companies typically devote more resources to market access than in other countries, even with a similar size."
