title: Reference pricing in the presence of pseudo-generics.
abstract: This paper looks at producers of branded and generic pharmaceuticals' pricing decisions under two possible reimbursement schemes-reference pricing and fixed percentage reimbursement-and under two settings-one where the branded producer only sells the (off-patent) branded pharmaceutical and another where, in addition, it may also sell its own generic version, a so called pseudo-generic. We find different pricing responses from firms under the two reimbursement schemes and across the two settings analysed (with or without a pseudo-generic), and show that pseudo-generics may have an anticompetitive effect. Our results have important policy implications such as showing that the presence of pseudo-generics reinforces reference pricing's advantages over alternative reimbursement schemes.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Economia e Gestão and CEGE, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Diogo Botelho, 1327, 4169-005, Porto, Portugal. rgoncalves@porto.ucp.pt.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Economia e Gestão, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Vasco
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Hélder
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
keywords: Pseudo-generics; Reference pricing; Reimbursement schemes