Systematic reviews for the update of the WHO guideline on country pharmaceutical pricing policies
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World Health Organization
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340 p.
This technical report presents the systematic reviews commissioned to update the second edition of the WHO guideline on country pharmaceutical pricing policies. It synthesizes the evidence on the effects of ten pharmaceutical pricing policies implemented individually or in combination to improve the affordability and availability of medicines for patients and health systems. Developed in response to the expansion of the evidence base since the 2015 WHO guideline, the report assesses the impact of these policies on medicine prices, utilization, availability and affordability, while also examining contextual and implementation factors relevant to policy decisions. The report describes the review methodology, including literature searches, study selection, risk of bias assessment, evidence synthesis and GRADE evidence profiling. The systematic reviews examine pooled procurement, value-based pricing, discounts for single-source pharmaceuticals, cost-plus pricing, tax exemptions or reductions, promotion of quality-assured generic and biosimilar medicines, reference pricing, price transparency, regulation of mark-ups across the pharmaceutical supply and distribution chain, and tendering and negotiation. For each policy, the report summarizes the available evidence, evaluates its completeness and quality, identifies implications for policy and practice, and highlights priorities for future research. It provides the evidence base underpinning the updated WHO guideline and supports transparent, evidence-informed pharmaceutical pricing policy development.
This technical report presents the systematic reviews commissioned to update the second edition of the WHO guideline on country pharmaceutical pricing policies. It synthesizes the evidence on the effects of ten pharmaceutical pricing policies implemented individually or in combination to improve the affordability and availability of medicines for patients and health systems. Developed in response to the expansion of the evidence base since the 2015 WHO guideline, the report assesses the impact of these policies on medicine prices, utilization, availability and affordability, while also examining contextual and implementation factors relevant to policy decisions. The report describes the review methodology, including literature searches, study selection, risk of bias assessment, evidence synthesis and GRADE evidence profiling. The systematic reviews examine pooled procurement, value-based pricing, discounts for single-source pharmaceuticals, cost-plus pricing, tax exemptions or reductions, promotion of quality-assured generic and biosimilar medicines, reference pricing, price transparency, regulation of mark-ups across the pharmaceutical supply and distribution chain, and tendering and negotiation. For each policy, the report summarizes the available evidence, evaluates its completeness and quality, identifies implications for policy and practice, and highlights priorities for future research. It provides the evidence base underpinning the updated WHO guideline and supports transparent, evidence-informed pharmaceutical pricing policy development.