6.F. Round table: What is the evidence for and against price transparency in pharmaceutical pricing and procurement?

Abstract

Abstract Although the potential for price transparency in pharmaceutical systems has been widely debated, there has been less discussion of the empirical basis to inform policymaking in this area. The lack of price transparency is viewed as one of the biggest barriers to joint pharmaceutical procurement, an initiative that has the potential to drive down pharmaceutical prices by pooling the purchasing power of smaller populations and thus improve the affordability of medicines. However, critics of the call for increased transparency in pharmaceutical pricing argue that such policies would lead to price inflation, particularly for countries with lower ability to pay or limited negotiating power. Given the widespread use of negotiated confidential discounts granted to different payers by manufacturers and the pervasiveness of international reference pricing as a policy mechanism for determining pharmaceutical prices, transparency policies would not only affect countries directly implementing them. As a result, policy-makers are often reluctant and unsure about how to proceed; this became readily apparent in the discussions around the Transparency Resolution at the World Health Assembly in May 2019. A concise overview of the evidence on the consequences of transparency policies is lacking. This panel draws on a wide-ranging literature review that sought to answer the following key research questions: Is there empirical evidence that examines the effect of price transparency on price development (within countries implementing the policy as well as other countries) In the area of pharmaceuticals? Regarding other types of healthcare goods and services? Regarding products from other industries? What insights can we learn from the available evidence and how transferrable is evidence from other healthcare dimensions or other industries to the issue of price transparency for pharmaceuticals? In this workshop we will bring together researchers to discuss the type of evidence available the extent to which it is empirically grounded. The workshop aims to address this issue and highlight evidence gaps for and against price transparency policies. Each panellist will talk for a maximum of 10 minutes presenting insights from their work; audience members will be actively invited to share their insights and reflections. Key messages The debate on price transparency in pharmaceutical systems needs to advance by looking at the full range of evidence available. Highlighting evidence gaps can endorse real world experiments to test theoretical arguments.