Prices, patents and access to drugs: Views on equity and efficiency in the global pharmaceutical industry

Auteurs : Quentin Cavalan, Maud Hazan, Irène Hu, Roxane Zighed

Article publié dans : Revue française des affaires sociales 2018/3, pages 249 à 268

Date de parution : 2018

DOI : https://doi.org/10.3917/rfas.183.0249

Abstract In this essay about international drug pricing in the global pharmaceutical market, we focus on the issue of access to medicine in developing countries. Acknowledging the essential trade-off between equity and efficiency that characterizes international drug pricing, we provide a perspective on the panorama of drug pricing and patenting policies. These policies are designed to optimize both supply and access to drugs. We examine their respective rationales, consequences and limitations. In a context of increasingly intense market interactions between developed and developing countries, the common challenge for these regulations is to safeguard incentives for the research and development industry, while accounting for lower purchasing power in developing countries.

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Publié le 26 mars 2018