Research and Markets: The Worldwide Guide to Pricing & Reimbursement

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/jg2cpl/the_worldwide) has announced the addition of the "The Worldwide Guide to Pricing & Reimbursement" report to their offering.

Provides insight into pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement systems around the world!

The issues of pricing and reimbursement play an important role in determining the likely commercial success of a pharmaceutical product in the marketplace. Following marketing authorisation, the pharmaceutical industry must successfully navigate national regulatory systems to determine the price at which a product can be sold and whether or not it will be eligible for reimbursement by public or private health insurers.

So how is pharmaceutical pricing established? There is no simple answer to this question. For other consumer goods, pricing may be as simple as the manufacturer setting a price at which their product can reasonably be sold in a particular market. In other words, a competitive price that is both affordable for the customer and allows the manufacturer to make a profit. For pharmaceutical companies, pricing is often far more complicated. Governments and health insurance providers around the world strive to contain costs while providing effective medicines for their patients. Their efforts to do so have resulted in national pricing policies that include various direct and indirect pricing controls. For prescription pharmaceuticals in particular, the issues of pricing and reimbursement are inextricably linked, as one is dependent on the other.

In the majority of countries surveyed for this report, there is some form of pricing control for pharmaceuticals that are reimbursed under the public health system, whether direct or indirect. National pricing authorities employ various methods of arriving at pharmaceutical prices, such as reference pricing schemes, fixed generic price reductions, fixed wholesale and pharmacy mark-ups, or limitations on company profits. Rather than relying on one method of price control, government agencies generally employ several tactics to minimise reimbursement costs. These may be directly enforced, or the subject of negotiation between government and industry.

For manufacturers, even when the issue of price has been successfully concluded, the issue of reimbursement may still remain. For a prescription medication to be used by the widest possible number of patients, it needs to be included in the reimbursement scheme. In some countries, reimbursement and pricing go hand in hand, so that once a price has been arrived at, the product is available for reimbursement. In others, the product will need to be included on a positive reimbursement list, or be recommended by a national body, such as the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/jg2cpl/the_worldwide

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Research and Markets: The Worldwide Guide to Pricing & Reimbursement