title: Prices and availability of biopharmaceuticals: an international comparison.
abstract: This paper presents new evidence on availability, use, and prices of biopharmaceuticals in five major European Union (EU) markets, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Mexico, relative to the United States. Our data set from IMS Health includes all product sales in 2005. Per capita spending on biopharmaceuticals was at least twice as high in the United States as in the other countries. This difference reflects primarily greater availability and use of new, relatively high-price molecules and formulations. Prices for identical formulations are not higher on average in the United States. The broader price indexes, which do not control formulation, are also not higher in the United States, after adjusting for income.
authors.affiliation: Health Care Department, Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA. danzon@wharton.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Danzon
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Furukawa
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D001702:Biopharmaceutics / Q000191:economics*; D002170:Canada; D016527:Drug Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005062:European Union; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D007564:Japan; D008800:Mexico; D014481:United States