Medicines Pricing: Limitations of Existing Policies and New Models

Abstract

Medicine price regulation aims to contribute to more affordable access to medicines for both patients and public payers. While there is strong evidence for its achievements, high prices remain a barrier to access, increasingly also in high-income countries. This chapter discusses existing medicine pricing policies, particularly for new medicines, such as external price referencing (EPR), value-based pricing (VBP), tendering and managed entry agreements, with a particular focus on their limitations. New models to address these drawbacks are presented; these include methodological support tools, collaborative approaches and improved transparency.