Big Pharma may not be able to build its new revenue house out of BRICs afterall - at least without paying the contractor more. In the past few months, India's DIPP has murmured about putting in price controls for Pharma MNCs operating in that country (see here and here) to prevent the pricing-out the poor in that country. There was enough noise to prompt a visit by a Big Pharma delegation to lobby against this (here).
China To Cap Prices On Meds From Foreign Pharma // Pharmalot.
Now China, specifically the National Development and Reform Commission, is said to be making an aggressive move toward capping prices on "essential meds made by foreign-capitalized drugmakers". According to a China Pharmaceutical Industry Research and Development Association (not necessarily an unbiased source), the average price of 9 foreign independently priced drugs in a mere 1,311 percent higher than domestic meds. Ouch! (data could be highly selective though).
Nonetheless, the Commission, the most powerful ecnomic planning force in China, does plan to make a move on foreign drugmakers - no doubt a potentially worrying developmentif it were to become more widespread.
Posted by Bruce Lehr November 29th 2010.
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