Ministry representatives told the newspaper the lobbying had gone beyond “the walls of parliament and the limits of decency”.
Rzeczpospolita said groups funded by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have been active in obesity campaigns and events, including in parliament.
Of the PLN 25 million, PLN 16 million (EUR 3.6 million) went to sponsorship of scientific societies, universities, hospitals and patient organisations, and about PLN 9 million (EUR 2 million) to payments for medics’ services, the paper said. The total does not include funding for doctors’ travel to conferences.
The companies are seeking reimbursement even though the head of Poland’s health technology assessment agency has not yet recommended it for either drug.
The paper cited estimates that covering Mounjaro would cost the state an extra PLN 550 million (EUR 125 million) over two years, and Wegovy about PLN 860 million (EUR 195 million) over four.
Poles themselves spent nearly PLN 1.5 billion (EUR 340 million) on the two drugs last year, including PLN 1.29 billion on Mounjaro and PLN 182 million on Wegovy, according to the report.
(jh)
Source: PAP