Introduction:
Payers in all countries are increasing their pressure on
manufacturers to cut prices. But prescription drug pricing and reimbursement
policies vary markedly among the leading pharmaceutical markets, so, to best
determine pricing, pharmaceutical companies need to be aware of international
price differentials. This report, featuring 33 data-rich tables and figures,
provides comparisons of ex-manufacturer prices for 170 best-selling drugs in
seven major markets and by select therapeutic area.
Questions Answered in This Report:
*
In 2008, European prescription drug prices averaged just 61%
of U.S. prices.
How did prices vary among the five leading European markets?
Which therapeutic areas had the highest and lowest prices relative to U.S. prices?
*
Japanese drug prices averaged 67% of U.S. prices in 2008.
How
many drugs were more expensive in Japan than in the United States? What impact
did the most recent biennial price revision have on drug prices on Japan?
*
The percentage price differential between the United States
and other leading pharmaceutical markets is generally much narrower for
biologics than for small-molecule drugs.
How do European and Japanese prices
for monoclonal antibodies compare with prices in the United States? How great
is the percentage price differential for recombinant proteins?
*
Payers in all markets will be looking to increase pressure on
manufacturers to moderate prescription drug prices.
How is the U.S.
government’s health reform agenda likely to impact drug prices in the United
States? What methods are European governments using to control pharmaceutical
prices? What changes to the Japanese pricing system are currently under discussion?Scope:
Overall price differentials among markets:
ex-manufacturer prices of 170 best-selling drugs in six major markets (France,
Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Japan) relative to U.S. prices.
Pricing hierarchy in individual markets: U.S. price of
each of the 170 drugs under review as a percentage of average prices in the six
other markets under review; pricing hierarchy in individual European markets,
Japan, and the five European markets overall as a percentage of U.S. prices.
Price variations by therapeutic area: price variations
among the 170 drugs in our analysis divided into ten categories: cardiovascular,
metabolic disease, immune and inflammatory disease, infectious disease,
neurology, psychiatry, antineoplastic drugs, treatments for the side effects of
chemotherapy, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary.
Prices of biologics: prices as a percentage of U.S.
prices for 23 biologics (9 monoclonal antibodies and 14 recombinant proteins)
in the six other markets under study.
Outlook and implications: implications of the new U.S.
administration’s health reform agenda for drug prices in the United States;
ongoing strict government control of drug prices in Europe; industry calls for
pricing reform in Japan.