Access to medicines in the context of the right-to-health framework 2013, para. 23
Paragraph- Paragraph text
- According to the respondent States, ERP is the primary method used by regulatory bodies to set a retail price above which medicines cannot be sold to consumers. Under ERP, the price of a specific medicine in one or several countries is used as a benchmark to set or negotiate the price of medicines in a given country. Regrettably, some developing countries select developed countries, with higher medicines prices, as reference countries, resulting in substantially higher medicines prices. For example, in 23 developing countries, public sector prices for generic medicines were 1.9 to 3.7 times higher than even the international reference price (calculated at the median price of multi-sourced medicines offered to developing countries by different suppliers) and for originator brands, 5.3 to 20.5 times the international reference price. To secure the lowest price for medicines and enhance affordable and equitable access to essential medicines, purchasing States should therefore select reference countries whose level of economic development is similar to theirs. If States use high-price countries for referencing, they should adjust the benchmark price to the levels of local income per capita when setting prices.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Means of adoption
- N.A.
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Other
- Reference
- SR Health, Report to the HRC (2013), A/HRC/23/42, para. 23.
- Paragraph number
- 23
sorted by
Date added
90 relationships, 90 entities