An Overview of Medicine Pricing Policies that May be Applicable to Low-and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

Escalating medicine costs pose a risk to medicine access, particularly in low-and middle-income countries. Several high-income countries have instituted and documented the effects of pricing interventions to address this risk. Low-and middle-income countries, however, usually have less regulated pharmaceutical markets, with scant documented evidence to support successful policy interventions. Policy options for low-and middle-income countries should be transparent, individually tailored based on a country-specific context and cognisant of the associated risks. The lack of empirical evidence of pharmaceutical policy interventions in low-and middle-income countries is a hindrance to understanding the challenges, successes and lesson these countries face in policy implementation. In addition to regular research and monitoring of pharmaceutical policies, low-and middle-income countries require strengthening of several other aspects of the market, with a focus on infrastructure and human capacity development; resource improvement and appropriate application of the legal systems necessary to support instituted policies.