 Spectrum --
July 2008
 Introduction:
The United States stands in stark contrast to Europe and
Japan in terms of the freedom that manufacturers have to set--and increase--the
prices of branded drugs in the U.S. market. However, pharmaceutical companies
need to give careful thought to their pricing strategies in all markets. Payers
around the world are constantly adjusting their pharmaceutical cost-containment
strategies.
Get the Answers You Need to Shape Your Strategy:
 Leading pharmaceutical benefit management companies (PBMs) in
the United States are seeking new ways to contain prescription drug costs. How
do recent pricing trends for generics and branded drugs compare? What are PBMs
doing to stimulate greater use of generics? What is the outlook for specialty
pharmaceuticals?
The French government has announced a major new
cost-containment initiative. How will the government’s medical control
strategy be used to save €500 million ($684 million) per year? Which categories
of drugs are likely to be targets for price cuts? Which drug class could be
subjected to reimbursement at the price level of generics?
German health insurance funds recently cut reference prices in
59 reference pricing groups. How many products now exceed their reference
prices? What impact have the reference price cuts had on the availability of
copayment-exempt drugs?
The U.K. government has unveiled a new drug pricing and
reimbursement system and a constitution for the National Health Service. What
effect will the new Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme have on U.K. drug
prices? How does the government plan to stimulate pharmaceutical innovation?
How is the role of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
(NICE) likely to change?
Scope:
Issues affecting the pharmaceutical industry in the United
States: recent spending trends; pricing; increasing use of generics;
specialty pharmacy; Medicare reforms; new active surveillance system.
Issues affecting the pharmaceutical industry in Europe:
expansion of European Commission antitrust investigation; French government’s
new cost-containment strategy; impact of German reference pricing cuts; Italian
prescribing trends; steady growth in the Spanish prescription drug market;
price cuts agreed in negotiations for new U.K. drug pricing system.
Issues affecting the pharmaceutical industry in Japan:
industry association’s proposed new pricing system; unprecedented focus on
expanding the generics market.
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