The Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) share price closed 1.15% lower today at $21.54. The dip came after the company announced that its SCENESSE product had been added to Israel's 'National Health Basket' (NHB) of reimbursable services and products.
Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and delivering treatments for patients with a range of genetic and vascular disorders.
The company's main product is SCENESSE (afamelanotide), a drug targeting erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP).
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What's driving the Clinuvel share price?
Earlier today, Clinuvel announced that it had achieved a positive outcome in Israel regarding its SCENESSE treatment. The product, which is already available in the European Union and the United States, will now be commercially prescribed in Israel.
The company noted that Israel's healthcare costs amounted to 7.5% of GDP, and spending on pharmaceutical products equated to 13.1% of all healthcare.
Clinuvel said while it was compulsory that Israeli residents were provided insurance under the National Health Insurance Law (enacted 1994), most residents also opted for voluntary health insurance options. This was in order to gain benefits including medications not covered by the standard package, and access to faster healthcare and a more comprehensive network of doctors.
Management comments
Clinuvel's commercial affairs vice president Antonella Colucci welcomed the expansion into Israel, saying:
Our team has been working tirelessly to facilitate accelerated access to SCENESSE treatment for Israeli EPP patients.
We are establishing a foothold and infrastructure in Israel to enable treatment accessing a country where the risk of EPP burns and phototoxicity is high due to the light intensity and sun exposure. Israeli EPP patients have been at heightened risk for decades and had to learn to live a recluse life.
The Clinuvel share price has fallen more than 17% during the past 12 months.
