Pricing New Drugs for COVID-19 in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Insights From the Chinese Medical Insurance

Document Type : Letter to Editor

Authors

1 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, National Children’s Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China

2 NHC Key Laboratory of Health Technology Assessment, Department of Health Economics, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

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Dear Editor,

The zero-price conundrum in drug pricing is the dilemma pharmaceutical companies face in pricing their drugs.1 They must balance accessibility and affordability for consumers with profitability to cover research and development costs. Government and insurance restrictions on drug prices can make profitability difficult. Conversely, recent research indicates that the pharmaceutical industry’s “Financialization” has resulted in significant allocations of funds towards share buybacks and dividends, surpassing expenditures on research and development. This trend may contribute to the elevated prices of drugs.2.... (Read more...)  

References

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  2. Angelis A, Polyakov R, Wouters OJ, Torreele E, McKee M. High drug prices are not justified by industry's spending on research and development. BMJ. 2023;380:e071710. doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-071710
  3. Guidelines on the pricing of COVID-19 treatment drugs. http://www.nhsa.gov.cn/art/2023/1/6/art_104_9993.html.
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History

  • Receive Date: 13 February 2023
  • Revise Date: 18 May 2023
  • Accept Date: 30 May 2023
  • First Publish Date: 31 May 2023

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