E-DRUG: Price Regulation in Sri Lanka (5)
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This has reference to the discussion on drug price regulation in Sri Lanka. The difference between countries such as Sri Lanka, India and the West is that in those countries, the government pays the healthcare costs. But in India, for example, the prices are kept down because of competition. There is no patent protection for 90 per cent of products and dozens of companies are making essentially the same product. The only differentiator is price.
In the US, an expensive drug sells much better than a cheaper alternative if the costs of the former are paid by Medicaid or Medicare and so on. The arrangement throughout much of Europe is similar. Hence the comparison is not quite appropriate.
Dr Sumit Ghoshal
Deputy Editor, Business India
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