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A new approach to pharmaceutical pricing based on patients’ willingness to pay
Author(s) -
Rahimi Farimah,
Rasekh Hamid Reza,
Abbasian Ezatollah,
Peiravian Farzad
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/tmi.13157
Subject(s) - willingness to pay , reference price , economics , pricing strategies , value (mathematics) , microeconomics , business , actuarial science , computer science , machine learning
Objectives Pharmaceutical pricing is an important and contentious issue in middle‐ and low‐income countries. The present study evaluated a value‐based pricing system for estimating the price of interferon‐beta ( IFN ‐ β ). Methods Prices were estimated through the Willingness to Pay ( WTP ) system using the Discrete Choice Experiment ( DCE ) from the viewpoint of MS patients, levels of attributes and patients’ willingness to pay for these attributes. Results The results indicate that the new approach to pricing medicines leads to more integrated prices than the current system. The current prices of four brands were higher than their pharmaceutical market price; the prices of other brands were consistent with it. Conclusion Application of the proposed pricing system will help pharmaceutical companies make realistic price estimates of their products while accounting for patient preferences, which may enhance patients’ adherence to treatment.