Experts Lounge
Lessons Kenya can learn from the recent US pharma price hikes
By Dr Reuben Sigey
Heated debates are ongoing in the world ’ s super power , US over the sudden increase in prices of old offpatent drugs by very high percentages .
US presidential aspirant , Hillary Clinton already took a stand last September offering a plan to protect Americans from unjustified price hikes in lifesaving treatments that have long been on the market .
She believes that the time is ripe for the conversation to move away from mere talk but real talk in addressing the choking issue .
Global spending on medicine is expected to touch the Sh131 trillion ($ 1.3 trillion ) mark by 2018 , an increase of 30 per cent compared to 2013 . Global sales in 2013 was Sh100trillion ($ 989 billion ).
The lucrative US market is projected to be worth about Sh43.8trillion ($ 433.33 billion ) in two years ’ time .
Pharmaceutical products are core to the functioning of any healthcare system . This is because they form a critical component of many treatment interventions .
From the industry ’ s perspective , availability and access is key , in which case affordability becomes a critical factor .
It is no wonder then that the issue of drug prices generates a lot of interest and emotions , with various parties including patients , doctors , politicians and pharmaceutical companies defending preferred positions in an effort to tip the scale in their favor .
In this way , pharmaceutical pricing has become a political issue ; this , particularly , has been observed in markets where there is no control on pricing , a perfect example being the US , where pharmaceutical companies are free to set the market prices .
8 November-December 2016