• Biosimilars
  • Drug Development/R&D
  • All Topics
OHE OHE
Newsletter SignupSubscribe

News & Insights
  • News
  • Events
  • Insights
  • Bulletin
  • News
  • Events
  • Insights
  • Bulletin

News & Insights

  • News
  • Events
  • Insights
  • Bulletin
Newsletter SignupSubscribe
  • News
  • Events
  • Insights
  • Bulletin

Close
OHE OHE
  • Research & Publications
  • News & Insights
  • Education
  • Innovation Policy Prize
  • Events
  • About Us
  • OHE Experts
  • Contact Us
Newsletter SignupSubscribe

Research & Publications

All Publications

Filter by:
  • Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
  • Biosimilars
  • Cell and Gene Therapies
  • Chronic Diseases
  • Combination Therapies
  • COVID-19 Research
  • Digital Health
  • Drug Development/R&D
  • Emerging Markets
  • EQ-5D and PROMs
  • Health Care Systems
  • Health Data and Statistics
  • Health Technology Assessment
  • Precision Medicine
  • Real World Evidence
  • Use of Medicines
  • Value-Based Pricing
  • Vaccine Research
  • Economics of Innovation
  • Measuring and Valuing Outcomes
  • Policy, Organisation and Incentives in Health Systems
  • Value, Affordability and Decision Making

News & Insights

  • News
  • Events
  • Insights
  • Bulletin

Education

  • Education Hub
  • OHE Graduate School
  • EVIA Programme

Innovation Policy Prize

  • The Prize Fund
  • 2022 Prize Fund

Latest Research & Publications

  • Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
  • Economics of Innovation

Incentivising New Antibiotics: Designing a Value-Based Delinked Pull Incentive Mechansim

Men rowing on a river
Read more

Proposal for a General Outcome-based Value Attribution Framework for Combination Therapies

CombTher_Adobe_photoguns_portrait
Read more
© photoguns
  • Digital Health

Navigating the Landscape of Digital Health – United Kingdom

Healthcare_Adobe_elenabsl
Read more

2021 OHE Annual Report to the Charity Commission

charityreport_lina-trochez-unsplash_landscape
Read more
© Lina Trochez/Unsplash

Supporting the Era of Green Pharmaceuticals in the UK

Sustainability_AdobeStock_270582392_landscape
Read more

Quality of life and wellbeing in individuals with experience of fertility problems and assisted reproductive techniques

Quality of life assisted reproduction Cover
Read more
  • Cell and Gene Therapies
  • Value, Affordability, and…

Health Technology Assessment of Gene Therapies: Are Our Methods Fit for Purpose?

gene_therapies_national-cancer-institute-unsplash_landscape
Read more
© NCI/Unsplash
  • Drug Development/R&D
  • Economics of Innovation
  • Health Policy and Regulation

Limitations of CBO’s Simulation Model of New Drug Development as a Tool for Policymakers

CBO-US_mayer-tawfik-K4Ckc0AxgDI-unsplash_landscape
Read more
© Mayer Tawfik/Unsplash
Close
OHE
  • All Publications

    Filter by:
    • Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
    • Biosimilars
    • Cell and Gene Therapies
    • Chronic Diseases
    • Combination Therapies
    • COVID-19 Research
    • Digital Health
    • Drug Development/R&D
    • Emerging Markets
    • EQ-5D and PROMs
    • Health Care Systems
    • Health Data and Statistics
    • Health Technology Assessment
    • Precision Medicine
    • Real World Evidence
    • Use of Medicines
    • Value-Based Pricing
    • Vaccine Research
    • Economics of Innovation
    • Measuring and Valuing Outcomes
    • Policy, Organisation and Incentives in Health Systems
    • Value, Affordability and Decision Making
    • News
    • Events
    • Insights
    • Bulletin
    • Education Hub
    • OHE Graduate School
    • EVIA Programme
    • The Prize Fund
    • 2022 Prize Fund
  • Events
  • About Us
  • OHE Experts
  • Contact Us
Newsletter SignupSubscribe
Back
  • News
11 min read 23rd October 2012

Comparing Prescription Medicines Prices in the UK to Prices in Other Countries

Since 1996, in its yearly PPRS Report to Parliament, the Department of Health in England has published international price comparisons of branded medicines used in the primary care setting. The most recent PPRS Report contains comparisons for 2010. In a…

Share:
  •  Twitter
  •  LinkedIn
  •  Facebook
  • has-icon Email
International Comparisons of Medicine Prices. 2011 Indices. Methodology and Results

Since 1996, in its yearly PPRS Report to Parliament, the Department of Health in England has published international price comparisons of branded medicines used in the primary care setting. The most recent PPRS Report contains comparisons for 2010. In a report just out, OHE Consulting updates these comparisons for the UK through 2011, using the same methodology as the Department of Health uses in its PPRS reports.

International Comparisons of Medicine Prices. 2011 Indices. Methodology and Results

Since 1996, in its yearly PPRS Report to Parliament, the Department of Health in England has published international price comparisons of branded medicines used in the primary care setting. The most recent PPRS Report contains comparisons for 2010[1]. In a report just out, OHE Consulting updates these comparisons for the UK through 2011, using the same methodology as the Department of Health uses in its PPRS reports. The OHE Consulting analysis also examines the challenges involved in comparing medicine prices across countries.

International price comparisons are not straightforward. Many issues and factors determine how prices of medicines in the UK compare to those in the rest of the world. There is no single preferred method for analysing price differences across countries, but some methods are more appropriate than others. Choosing which to use depends in part on the objective of the comparison.

In its most recent PPRS Report to Parliament, the Department of Health included the 250 top-selling branded medicines used in primary care in England in 2011; medicines used predominantly in the hospital and home care settings were excluded. The OHE Consulting report uses these same criteria and also is based on data collected for the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the US. To ensure the medicines included do match, various databases were used.

The total sample of preparations included in the OHE Consulting report is 799, although the sample varies by country since not all countries market all 799 preparations[2].  The sample was weighted by the volume of sales in England to show what the NHS would pay for medicines if they were priced at the levels in the comparator countries.  Additional details on the methodology are explained in the report, available for download from the OHE website.

In the early 2000s, UK prices were among the highest of the comparator countries, according to Department of Health PPRS reports.  In 2007-2008, the UK dropped substantially in the rankings, from mid-position to the bottom of the pricing range. Based on OHE Consulting’s analysis, prices in 2011 were still in the bottom quartile for the leading branded medicines in primary care in the UK, as the table shows.

 Bilateral comparisons of ex-manufacturer prices (2011)

Column 2 shows the 2011 results using the average exchange rates for Q4 2011. Column 3 shows the 2011 indices using the average Q4 exchange rates for the five years 2007-2011. Indices using five-year average exchange rates, intended to smooth out the year-by-year volatility of exchange rates, also are reported in the PPRS Report to Parliament.

Download O’Neill, P., Puig-Peiró, R., Mestre-Ferrandiz, J. and Sussex, J. (2012) International comparisons of medicines prices, 2011 indices, methodology and results. Consulting Report. London: Office of Health Economics.

For further information contact Dr Jorge Mestre-Ferrandiz at OHE Consulting.

 


[1] Department of Health, England. (2012) The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme: Eleventh report to Parliament. London: Department of Health.
[2] The 250 medicines may appear in a variety of pack/dose sizes, hence the larger number of “preparations”.    

 

  • Healthcare Systems
  • Consulting Reports

Related News

  • News
  • October 2020

Opportunities to Increase Efficiency in Healthcare

Read more
  • News
  • September 2020

Cornerstones of ‘Fair’ Drug Coverage

Read more
  • News
  • September 2020

Assessing the Productivity Value of Vaccines in Health Technology Assessment: Worth a Shot?

Read more
  • News
  • September 2020

Establishing a Reasonable Price for an Orphan Drug

Read more
footer_ohe_logo

Leading intellectual authority on global health economics

Sign Up for the OHE News Bulletin

Newsletter SignupStart Sign Up

Research & Publications

News & Insights

Innovation Policy Prize

Education

Events

About Us

OHE Experts

Contact Us

Sign Up for the OHE News Bulletin

Newsletter SignupStart Sign Up

The Office of Health Economics (OHE) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (registered number 09848965) and its registered office is at 2nd Floor Goldings House, Hay’s Galleria, 2 Hay’s Lane, London, SE1 2HB.

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Cookies Policy

© 2023 Website Design

An error has occurred, please try again later.An error has occurred, please try again later.

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

 Twitter
 Facebook
 LinkedIn
 Copy
 Email
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!