Research and Markets ( http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7c95b2/pharmaceutical_pri) has announced the addition of Decision Resources, Inc.’s new report “Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement News in the Second Quarter of 2008″ to their offering.

The United States stands in stark contrast to Europe and Japan in terms of the freedom that manufacturers have to set–and increase–the prices of branded drugs in the U S market. However, pharmaceutical companies need to give careful thought to their pricing strategies in all markets Payers around the world are constantly adjusting their pharmaceutical cost-containment strategies.
Get the Answers You Need to Shape Your Strategy:

- Leading pharmaceutical benefit management companies (PBMs) in the United States are seeking new ways to contain prescription drug costs. How do recent pricing trends for generics and branded drugs compare? What are PBMs doing to stimulate greater use of generics? What is the outlook for specialty pharmaceuticals?
- The French government has announced a major new cost-containment initiative. How will the government’s medical control strategy be used to save EUR 500 million ($684 million) per year? Which categories of drugs are likely to be targets for price cuts? Which drug class could be subjected to reimbursement at the price level of generics?
- German health insurance funds recently cut reference prices in 59 reference pricing groups. How many products now exceed their reference prices? What impact have the reference price cuts had on the availability of copayment-exempt drugs?
- The U K government has unveiled a new drug pricing and reimbursement system and a constitution for the National Health Service What effect will the new Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme have on UK drug prices? How does the government plan to stimulate pharmaceutical innovation? How is the role of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) likely to change?
Scope:
- Issues affecting the pharmaceutical industry in the United States: recent spending trends; pricing; increasing use of generics; specialty pharmacy; Medicare reforms; new active surveillance system
- Issues affecting the pharmaceutical industry in Europe: expansion of European Commission antitrust investigation; French government’s new cost-containment strategy; impact of German reference pricing cuts; Italian prescribing trends; steady growth in the Spanish prescription drug market; price cuts agreed in negotiations for new U K drug pricing system
- Issues affecting the pharmaceutical industry in Japan: industry association’s proposed new pricing system; unprecedented focus on expanding the generics market
Key Developments in the Second Quarter of 2008:
- Medicare Reforms
- European Commission Expands Antitrust Investigation
- French Government Announces Plans for a Major New Cost-Containment Strategy
- Impact of Reference Price Cuts in Germany
- Price Cuts Agreed in Negotiations for New U K Drug Pricing System
- New NHS Constitution Promises Improved Market Access for Innovative Medicines in the United Kingdom
- Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Proposes New Pricing System
- Unprecedented Focus on Expanding the Japanese Generics Market

Key Topics Covered:
Executive Summary
Strategic Considerations
Stakeholder Implications
Overview
United States
Pharmacy Benefit Management Trends
Recent Spending Trends
Pricing
Increasing Use of Generics
Specialty Pharmacy
Outlook
Medicare Reforms
Approval of New Active Surveillance System
European Union
Expansion of European Commission’s Antitrust Investigation
France
Impact of New Patient Charge
Call for a Review of the Prescription, Consumption, and Taxation of Medicines
Rollout of Personal Medical Dossiers Extended
Government Plan for a Major New Cost-Containment Strategy
Germany
Rapid Growth of Rebate Contracts
Impact of Reference Price Cuts
Clarification of Second Opinion Process
Italy
Prescribing Trends in 2007
Spain
New Government Health Plan
Strongest Sales Growth for High-Priced Drugs
Steady Growth in the Prescription Drug Market
United Kingdom
Tentative Agreement on Price Cuts in Negotiations for New Drug Pricing System
Promise of Improved Market Access for Innovative Medicines
Growing Industry Disillusionment with the U K Market
Initiative to Increase the Use of Statins
Eisai’s Legal Victory over NICE
Japan
Industry Proposal for a New Drug Pricing System
Unprecedented Focus on Expanding the Generics Market
Outlook and Implications for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Companies Mentioned:
- Actelion
- Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco (AIFA; Italian Pharmaceutical Agency)
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
- Amgen
- Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
- AstraZeneca
- Bayer Vital
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Bundesverband der Betriebskrankenkassen (BKK; Federal Association of Occupational Health Insurance Funds)
- Bundesverband der Pharmazeutischen Industrie (BPI; Federal Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry)
- Caisse Nationale de l’Assurance Maladie (CNAM; National Health Insurance Fund), France
- Caisse Nationale de l’Assurance Maladie des Travailleurs Salaries (CNAM; National Health Insurance Fund for Salaried Workers), France
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Comite Economique des Produits de Sante (CEPS; Economic Committee for Healthcare Products), France
- Confederation of British Industry (CBI), United Kingdom
- CVS Caremark
- Department of Defense (DoD)
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- Eisai
- Encysive
- European Commission
- European Court of Justice
- European Union (EU)
- Express Scripts
- FDA
- Federacion Empresarial de Farmaceuticos Espanoles (FEFE; Business Federation of Spanish Pharmacists), Spain
- Federal Trade Commission
- Gemeinsamer Bundesausschu(beta) der Arzte, Zahnarzte, Krankenhauser und Krankenkassen (GBA; Joint Federal Committee of Physicians, Dentists, Hospitals, and Health Insurance Funds), Germany
- Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung (GKV; statutory health insurance) system, Germany
- Institute of Medicine
- Japan Generic Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JGPMA)
- Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA)
- Lundbeck
- Medco
- Merck
- Merck-Serono
- Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW), Japan
- Mission d’Evaluation et de Controle des Lois de Financement de la Securite Sociale (MECSS; Commission for the Evaluation and Monitoring of Social Security Finance Laws), France
- National Drug Center
- National Health Service (NHS), United Kingdom
- National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), United Kingdom
- Nippon Pharmacy Association (NPhA), Japan
- Office of Fair Trading (OFT), United Kingdom
- Osservatorio Nazionale sull’Impiego dei Medicinali (OsMed; National Observatory on the Use of Medicines), Italy
- Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
- Pfizer
- Roche
- Sanofi -Aventis
- Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN; National Health Service), Italy
- Shire Pharmaceuticals
- Sistema Nacional de Salud (SNS; National Health System), Spain
- Spitzenverbande der Krankenkassen (leading associations of health insurance funds), Germany
- Union Nationale des Caisses d’Assurance-Maladie (UNCAM; National Union of Health Insurance Funds), France
- U S House of Representatives
- U S Senate
- Wettbewerbskommission (Competition Commission), Switzerland

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7c95b2/pharmaceutical_pri

SOURCE: Research and Markets Ltd.