• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • 1 Published Research and Commentary
    • Health Politics
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • 1 Published Research and Commentary
    • Health Politics
    • View Item
    Feb 24, 2021
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of MSFTitleAuthorsSubjectsPublisherJournalThis CollectionTitleAuthorsSubjectsPublisherJournal

    A win-win solution?: A critical analysis of tiered pricing to improve access to medicines in developing countries

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    111012_A win-win-solution-A-cr ...
    Size:
    962.8Kb
    Format:
    PDF
    Description:
    Main article
    Download
    Authors
    Moon, Suerie
    Jambert, Elodie
    Childs, Michelle
    von Schoen-Angerer, Tido
    Affiliation
    Harvard Kennedy School and School of Public Health, Boston, USA; Médecins Sans Frontières, Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, Geneva, Switzerland
    Issue Date
    2011-10-12
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Journal
    Globalization and Health
    Abstract
    Background: Tiered pricing - the concept of selling drugs and vaccines in developing countries at prices systematically lower than in industrialized countries - has received widespread support from industry, policymakers, civil society, and academics as a way to improve access to medicines for the poor. We carried out case studies based on a review of international drug price developments for antiretrovirals, artemisinin combination therapies, drug-resistant tuberculosis medicines, liposomal amphotericin B (for visceral leishmaniasis), and pneumococcal vaccines. Discussion: We found several critical shortcomings to tiered pricing: it is inferior to competition for achieving the lowest sustainable prices; it often involves arbitrary divisions between markets and/or countries, which can lead to very high prices for middle-income markets; and it leaves a disproportionate amount of decision-making power in the hands of sellers vis-à-vis consumers. In many developing countries, resources are often stretched so tight that affordability can only be approached by selling medicines at or near the cost of production. Policies that “de-link” the financing of R&D from the price of medicines merit further attention, since they can reward innovation while exploiting robust competition in production to generate the lowest sustainable prices. However, in special cases - such as when market volumes are very small or multi-source production capacity is lacking - tiered pricing may offer the only practical option to meet short-term needs for access to a product. In such cases, steps should be taken to ensure affordability and availability in the longer-term. Summary: To ensure access to medicines for populations in need, alternate strategies should be explored that harness the power of competition, avoid arbitrary market segmentation, and/or recognize government responsibilities. Competition should generally be the default option for achieving affordability, as it has proven superior to tiered pricing for reliably achieving the lowest sustainable prices.
    Publisher
    BioMed Central
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10144/220355
    DOI
    10.1186/1744-8603-7-39
    PubMed ID
    21992405
    Additional Links
    http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/7/1/39
    Type
    Article
    Language
    en
    ISSN
    1744-8603
    ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
    10.1186/1744-8603-7-39
    Scopus Count
    Collections
    Health Politics

    entitlement

    Related articles

    • Tiered pricing of vaccines: a win-win-win situation, not a subsidy.
    • Authors: Plahte J
    • Issue date: 2005 Jan
    • Differential pricing for pharmaceuticals: reconciling access, R&D and patents.
    • Authors: Danzon PM, Towse A
    • Issue date: 2003 Sep
    • The availability, pricing and affordability of three essential asthma medicines in 52 low- and middle-income countries.
    • Authors: Babar ZU, Lessing C, Mace C, Bissell K
    • Issue date: 2013 Nov
    • [Risk sharing methods in middle income countries].
    • Authors: Inotai A, Kaló Z
    • Issue date: 2012
    • Could international compulsory licensing reconcile tiered pricing of pharmaceuticals with the right to health?
    • Authors: Ooms G, Forman L, Williams OD, Hill PS
    • Issue date: 2014 Dec 18
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2021)  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.