english.prescrire.org > Spotlight > Archives : 2005 > Drug prices and reimbursement: making better use of public funds

Spotlight: Archives

Every month, the subjects in Prescrire’s Spotlight.

2005 : 1 | 30 | 60

Drug prices and reimbursement:
making better use of public funds

Public funds should be used in service of quality care, not to purchase "new" drugs at any price.

When improved packaging is needed for old drugs that still have a positive benefit-harm balance, pharmaceutical companies do not always choose the option that is in patients' best interest. This attitude is partly explained by the comparatively low cost of these drugs. Sometimes, cheap drugs disappear from the market altogether, even though they are still needed for treatment. Meanwhile, the government continues to grant marketing authorisations, agreeing to reimburse the high cost of new drugs which offer a minimal, unproven or even zero therapeutic benefit. The authorities have the power to force down some drug prices, and to raise others. But this should not just mean that new drugs can be sold at high prices. Similarly, cutting back on reimbursements can lead to better use of public money. But it should not just be seen as a way of compensating the sometimes unjustifiably high costs of new drugs. The crucial issue is that both prices and reimbursements should be medically justifiable. Public funds must be used in service of quality care and not squandered in boosting pharmaceutical companies' short-term profits.

©Prescrire October 2005

Source: "Argent collectif" Rev Prescrire 2005 ; 25 (265) : 644.

- More articles in Prescrire's "Spotlight"...