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Globalization and Health
Published in: Globalization and Health 1/2020

Open Access 01-12-2020 | Research

Understanding the trends in international agreements on pricing and reimbursement for newly marketed medicines and their implications for access to medicines: a computational text analysis

Author: Kyung-Bok Son

Published in: Globalization and Health | Issue 1/2020

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Abstract

Background

Health systems are struggling with unprecedented drug spending and governments have devised various policy options to manage high-priced medicines. Meanwhile, some pricing and reimbursement processes are currently moving under the jurisdiction of international agreements. This study aims to understand trends in international agreements from the perspectives of pricing and reimbursement policies for newly marketed medicines.

Methods

We proposed the framework to interpret the international agreements as code and applied computational text analysis to understand international agreements as data. In particular, we selected the AUSFTA, KORUS, and TPP to assess the progress and evolution in international agreements and investigate the existing relevant content on the pricing and reimbursement of newly marketed medicines.

Results

Similar to the provisions for intellectual property, the scope of international agreements regarding pricing and reimbursement decisions are broadened and strengthened. Over time, the domain of transparency, re-naming procedural fairness, has changed significantly more than the remaining domains. Pharmaceutical companies will have more opportunities to advocate for their positions, to protect their interests in decision processes, to investigate the decisions on listings and setting the amounts of reimbursement, and to challenge these decisions.

Conclusions

Recently signed international agreements favor companies over governments with underscoring procedural fairness and timely access. However, access to affordable medicines is the goal towards which international agreements should aim. In a similar vein, substantial fairness and the accountability of companies should be discussed when negotiating agreements or adopting international agreements through domestic legislation.
Footnotes
1
“Permit a manufacturer of the pharmaceutical product or medical device to apply, based on evidence of safety or efficacy, for an increased amount of reimbursement over that provided for comparator products, if any, used to determine the amount of reimbursement;”
 
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Metadata
Title
Understanding the trends in international agreements on pricing and reimbursement for newly marketed medicines and their implications for access to medicines: a computational text analysis
Author
Kyung-Bok Son
Publication date
01-12-2020
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Globalization and Health / Issue 1/2020
Electronic ISSN: 1744-8603
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-020-00633-9

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