[e-drug] Results of HAI Global pill price 'snapshot' -ciprofloxacin (6)

e-drug
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Results of HAI Global pill price 'snapshot' -ciprofloxacin (6)
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Dear E-druggers
In response to the findings of medicine price surveys, some countries
have developed policy strategies to improve medicine affordability and
availability. When we learn of these, we include a brief article about
the strategy in the WHO/HAI bulletin 'Medicine Pricing Matters'
(www.haiweb.org/medicineprices).

Following requests for guidance from national policy-makers, WHO ,HAI
and a group of international experts are drafting a series of papers
looking at the use of various price policy strategies in different
settings. There is currently very little published evidence on the
implementation or impact of various strategies in low and middle-income
countries, therefore policy-makers are largely limited to applying
experiences from high income countries which may not be appropriate.

We intend publishing the first six papers latter in the year. They
include issues such as regulating mark-ups, encouraging competition, the
role of health insurance in the cost-effective use of medicines, and the
use of pharmacoeconomic analysis, external reference pricing and
cost-plus to control prices. More papers will be drafted in 2010.
National pharmaceutical sectors are so variable and research is often
lacking, but we hope these papers will provide some guidance on the use
of various price policy strategies.

Ayyaz Kiani commented on the need to monitor prices as the sector is so
dynamic. We know of a few countries who are regularly monitoring prices
such as Kenya, Tanzania, and Malaysia. In the second edition of the
WHO/HAI price measurement manual we included a chapter on regular price
monitoring, which we intend to develop as we learn more about different
approaches.

Best regards
Marg Ewen
HAI Global
"Marg Ewen" <Marg@haiweb.org>

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E-DRUG: Cuts in manufacturers' prices
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Dear E-Drug subscribers,

Here is a good news for all those interested in improving access to medicines through cut in manufacturers prices. HAI/WHO campaign for medicine price reduction is bearing fruit. However, in light of the evidence coming from most countries where the pricing study was done, the best place to focus attention for price reductions is the manufacturers' prices (rather than government levies and taxes). See story below published in Pharmatimes by Lynne Taylor. Copied as fair use.
http://www.pharmatimes.com/WorldNews/article.aspx?id=17242&src=EWorldNews

Philippines seeks further drug price cuts
20 January 2010
The Philippines’ government has announced a second round of pharmaceutical price cuts, and is asking drug majors for “voluntary” reductions of up to 50%.

More than 21 products could be on the market at reduced prices by the end of March, according to Alexander Padilla, undersecretary at the Department of Health. An initial deadline of January 14 for drugmakers to submit their price reductions has now been extended to January 22, and while the government says it would prefer that these are voluntary, it is prepared to impose reductions, as it did last August for five essential medicines. At that time, the prices of 16 medicines were also lowered voluntarily by their makers.

The Pharmaceutical Health Care Association of the Philippines (PHAP), which represents multinational drugmakers in the country, has been asked to submit to the Department a list of price cuts for products made by its 51 member–companies, and that these should be the top-selling and most expensive products with little in the way of generic competition.

According to PHAP, last August’s round of price reductions led to 600 job losses in the industry, and it is urging the government to explore ways of increasing access to medicines for its 90 million population other than price intervention.

The prices of many drugs in the Philippines are considerably higher than in the rest of Southeast Asia, and the aim of the price reductions is to bring them more into line with those in neighbouring countries, the government says.

Meantime, earlier this month French drug major Sanofi-Aventis announced that it was cutting the prices of its products to treat diseases such as diabetes and cancer by as much as 50% in the Philippines and Indonesia, and that it plans to introduce similar price cuts in other Southeast Asian nations.

By Lynne Taylor

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E-DRUG: Results of HAI Global pill price 'snapshot' -ciprofloxacin (7)
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In India, prices of drugs are also regularly monitored by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).

Dr. Chandra M. Gulhati
Editor, Monthly Index of Medical Specialities,
New Delhi, India
Chandra Gulhati <seeemgee@yahoo.co.uk>