As an extension of the biennial Fair Pricing Forum, WHO hosts monthly webinars on country pharmaceutical pricing policies. The purpose of these webinars is to facilitate the sharing of country experiences on issues related to pharmaceutical pricing. All recorded webinars and the associated presentation slides can be found below.
We thank all the experts who contributed to these webinars. We also appreciate the feedback and ongoing support from the participants.
For further suggestions, please contact fairpricing@who.int
November 2023
Perspective subseries: Young people - Should young people be more concerned about medicine pricing?
Description:
- From emptying cans of tomato soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers to using hands as placards, in recent years, young people have actively expressed their views and frustrations on taking action to safeguard their environmental future. Young people do not seem to have the same level of awareness, participation and activism in the ongoing debate about timely and affordable access to essential medicines. In this webinar, young professionals will discuss various questions, including “What are the current systems or policies relating to pricing of and access to medicines that don’t make sense to you?” and “If you have an opportunity to redesign the systems from scratch, what would you like to change?” Let’s hear from these future leaders about access to medicines.
Speakers:
• Audrey Wong - Chairperson of External Relations, International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation
• Daphné Galloux - Youth Advocate for CHOICE for Youth Sexuality, Netherlands, Intern for UNICEF Health Section
• Kai Figueras de Vries - National Coordinator, Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), Chair of UAEM-Amsterdam
• Matheus Falcão - Member of Global Coordination, People's Health Movement, Brazil
October 2023
Perspective subseries: Health consumers - Nothing about me without me: Putting medicine pricing issues in the patient’s perspective
Description:
- In recent years, phrases such as “patient centricity” and “patient engagement” have become mainstream in many healthcare contexts, where health consumers’ autonomy and rights to be involved in individual and population healthcare decisions are emphasized. This contrasts with the traditional model of medical paternalism and paternalistic policymaking. Health consumers have been involved, or are expected to be involved, at various points along the medicines value chain, including research and development and selecting medicines to be included in government-funded programs. In reality, meaningful involvement requires substantial efforts and commitments both from the decision makers (e.g. policymakers, researchers, health care professionals) and health consumers. People's preferences for or ability to engage in the medical and policy decision-making process could also vary substantially, depending on the complexity of the topics. These include the pricing of medicines, where complex information could be overwhelming. In this webinar, representatives from various health consumer organizations will discuss their views on their experiences and the ways forward to bring health consumers into healthcare decision-making.
Speakers:
- Ana Carolina Navarrete - Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor (IDEC) Brazil
- Andrew Spiegel - Chief Executive Officer, Global Colon Cancer Association World Patients Alliance
- Anne-Pierre Pickaert - Ensemble Leucémie Lymphome Espoir (ELLyE)
- Florence Riako Anam - co-Executive Director, Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+)
- Robinah Kaitiritimba - Executive Director, Uganda National Health Consumers' Organisation (UNHCO)
September 2023
Perspective subseries: Pharmaceutical industry - Meeting public interests and expectations on affordable medicine pricing in private enterprises
Description:
- The pharmaceutical industry has an unequivocal role in shaping people’s access to medicines globally. From research and development, manufacturing and distribution, pricing, to the use of products, waves of industrial revolutions in the pharmaceutical industry have contributed to the transformative changes in medicines and public health. However, the considerable influences of the pharmaceutical industry, including high prices of medicines, have frequently brought fervent debates among stakeholders. This is evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the pharmaceutical industry’s influences in facilitating and inhibiting access to vaccines and medicines have brought both high praises and sharp criticisms. In this webinar, senior representatives from two major pharmaceutical industry associations will describe the roles, constraints, and opportunities of the pharmaceutical industry from their perspectives, with a specific focus on pharmaceutical pricing and affordability of medicines.
Speakers:
- James Anderson - Executive Director, Global Health, The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA)
- David Gaugh - Chair, International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association (IGBA); Interim President & Chief Executive Officer, Association for Accessible Medicines
August 2023
Perspective subseries: Doctors - How do frontline clinicians face medicine pricing issues?
Description:
- Escalating medicine pricing is a barrier to patient access to established and new medicines worldwide. As guardians of their healthcare systems and as dutiful agents of their patients, doctors often must make difficult choices due to cost considerations. How has medicine pricing impacted doctors in performing their day-to-day duties? Have cost considerations affected doctors’ ability to uphold their pledge to the Hippocratic Oath or the Declaration of Geneva? Has the relationship with the pharmaceutical industry challenged or even compromised doctors’ ability to maintain their pledges? Should doctors step outside their clinics and engage in political and social activism on medicine pricing to ensure affordable access? Doctors in this webinar will share their stories from the frontline and address these questions.
Speakers:
- Osahon Enabulele - Chief Consultant Family Physician Department of Family Medicine, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria
- Hina Jawaid - Associate Professor & Head of Department in Family Medicine University of Health Sciences Lahore, Pakistan
- Manju Sengar - Professor, Medical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital, India
- Kerstin Noëlle Vokinger - Professor of Law and Medicine, University of Zürich, Switzerland
Webinar Recording Passcode: 6.7R2Eyi (no spaces)
April 2023
Topic: “Fad or fabulous”? Assessing value of medicines using HTA to inform pricing
Description:
- In this webinar, the panelists will describe the achievements, promises and challenges of using HTA to inform pharmaceutical pricing and decision-making. Andrew Mirelman (WHO Department of Health Systems Governance and Financing) will moderate this session and discuss with the panelists key themes and ways to move our understanding forward.
Speakers:
- Vania Cristina Canuto Santos - Former President of National Committee for Technology Incorporation (CONITEC), Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services, Brazil
- Shankar Prinja - Professor of Health Economics, Department of Community Medicine & School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, India
- Steven Pearson - President, Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, The United States of America
Webinar Recording Passcode: RrWhIq.8 (no spaces)
February 2023
Topic: Going mainstream: Promoting the use of quality-assured generic medicines
Description:
- In this webinar, the panelists will present suites of policies in China, France and South Africa to promote the use of quality-assured generic medicines. They will discuss how policies have evolved over time to ‘mainstream’ generic medicines in their contexts.
Speakers:
- Étienne Nouguez - CNRS Research Fellow, Center for the Sociology of Organizations, Sciences Po Paris, France
- Sham Moodley - Honorary Research Fellow, School of Health Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal and Executive member of the Federation of International Pharmacy Community Section (FIP-CPS), South Africa
- Yangmu Huang - Deputy Dean, Department of Global Health, School of Public Health, and Joint researcher, Institute for Global Health and Development, Peking University, China
Webinar Recording Passcode: E+=92hx6 (no spaces)
January 2023
Topic: Self-benchmarking: Country policies on internal reference pricing
Description:
- In this webinar, the panelists will present internal reference pricing policies in Australia, Tunisia and Thailand. They will present specific policies such as cost minimization analysis, therapeutic grouping, and price reduction upon the entry of first alternative brand for generic or biosimilar medicines.
Speakers:
- Inès Fradi - Professor and Head of Pharmacy Department, National Center of Bone Marrow Transplantation, Tunisia
- Netnapis Suchonwanich - Advisor, National Health Commission Office, Thailand; Price Negotiation working group of the National List of Essential Medicines subcommittee, Thailand
- Soumya Sudarshan - Director, Pricing and Managed Access Section, Pricing and PBS Policy Branch, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
Webinar Recording Passcode: 5eW%9L7z (no spaces)
December 2022
Topic: End of year Quiz on pharmaceutical pricing
Description:
- In this short webinar, the quiz will test your knowledge on prices, pricing policies and selected policy reforms around the world. The mic will be open for anyone who would like to say something.
November 2022
Topic: Sharing prescription costs: Country policies on patient co-payments for medicines and their implications
Description:
- In this webinar, the panelists will present country policies on pharmaceutical co-payment. They will discuss the effects of such policies, including on patient access and health outcomes, whether the financial goals could justify the potential negative effects, and factors that should be considered when changing co-payment policies.
Speakers:
- Katri Aaltonen – The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), Helsinki, Finland Department of Social Research, University of Turku, Finland
- Aima Ahonkhai – Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Co-Director, Center for AIDS Research Scientific Working Group on Social Determinants of Health, Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, USA, Nigeria
- Emmanuel Guindon – Associate Professor, Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, McMaster University, Chair in Health Equity, Ontario Ministry of Health, Canada
- Saltanat Moldoisaeva - National Professional Officer, WHO Country Office for Kyrgyzstan
Webinar Recording Passcode: z0WJq*^G (no spaces)
October 2022
Topic: Beyond Price x Volume: The intricacies of budget impact analysis and managing pharmaceutical budget
Description:
- In this webinar, the panelists will examine the intricacies of budget impact analysis, and discuss various issues, such as the accuracies of analysis compared to realized utilization, and how to manage pharmaceutical budgets to deliver financial sustainability.
Speakers:
- Asmaa Abourawash – Head of pharmacoeconomics, Egyptian Drug Authority, Egypt
- Love Linnér – Analyst, The pharmaceutical unit, Region Stockholm, Health and Medical Care Administration, Sweden
- Panos Kanavos – Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Department of Health Policy & LSE Health, London School of Economics, The United Kingdom
Webinar Recording Passcode: Y@eC0w#d (no spaces)
September 2022
Topic: Shining light into the black box: Examples of price transparency measures in non-health sectors
Description:
- In this webinar, Angus Xie will explain the Guidelines on Price Transparency published by Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore. Paul Racionzer will describe experiences of food price monitoring of FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS). The webinar will consider some market characteristics (e.g., information asymmetry and market power) common in different sectors, with a view to exploring thoughts about the roles of governments in managing the transparency of pharmaceutical prices. Price transparency in the energy sector will not be covered in this webinar, as experts are unavailable due to the global energy crisis.
Speakers:
- Angus Xie – Senior Assistant Director, Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore
- Paul Racionzer – Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA) Coordinator, Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS), Markets and Trade Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Webinar Recording Passcode: 4^Xv&il. (no spaces but includes full stop)
August 2022
Topic: Cost-plus for setting pharmaceutical prices: Can a hypothetical Coca-Cola vending machine enlighten us about fair pharmaceutical pricing?
Description:
- In this webinar, Utpal Dholakia will share insights on the strengths and weaknesses of cost-plus pricing – “as the antithesis of value-based pricing”. Andrew Hill will share his research demonstrating the discrepancies between the estimated costs of production and pharmaceutical prices. Tegegne Aklilu will explain the cost structure of pharmaceutical manufacturing in Ethiopia and present key considerations for pricing pharmaceutical products based on cost. The panel will explore topics such as why cost-plus pricing has not been widely adopted, and whether setting prices using cost-plus pricing could facilitate universal and fair access to essential medicines.
Speakers:
- Utpal Dholakia – George R. Brown Professor of Marketing, Rice University, The United States of America
- Andrew Hill – Senior Visiting Research Fellow, University of Liverpool, The United Kingdom
- Tegegne Aklilu – Head-QA/QC, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ethiopia Plc
Webinar Recording Passcode: y?C6g8^% (no spaces)
July 2022
Topic: Regulating mark-ups for pharmaceutical products: Too high, too low or just right?
Description:
- In this webinar, panelists will present mark-up policies in Canada, the Philippines, and Greece. The panelists will discuss various issues, including mark-up structure, management, the extent to which mark-up policies have/have not constrained pharmaceutical prices and market power; and the impacts of rising numbers of high-cost medicines on mark-up structure.
Speakers:
- Melissa Guerrero – Director, Pharmaceutical Division, Department of Health - Health Regulation Team, The Philippines
- Vicky Koutrafouri – Head of Department for Pricing of Pharmaceutical products, National Organisation for Medicines (EOF), Greece
- Brian O’Shea – Economic & Socio-Economic Analyst, Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, Canada
- Yvonne Zhang – Senior Economist, Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, Canada
Webinar Recording Passcode: bk1Mcni* (no spaces)
June 2022
Topic: Mechanisms to manage transparency in medicines access and pricing reform
Description:
- In this session, the panelists will discuss their experiences with initiatives to improve transparency, engagement towards setting and communicating willingness to pay, and management of relationships among stakeholder groups engaged in medicines access and pricing reform.
Speakers:
- Barbara Mintzes – University of Sydney, Australia
- Inneke Van de Vijver – RIZIV-INAMI, Belgium
- Denis Kibira – HEPS-Uganda
Webinar Recording Passcode: =kt4E4Hx (no spaces)
April 2022
Topic: Patient and civil society engagement in medicines pricing and access reforms
Description:
- In this session, the panelists will discuss their experiences with promoting price transparency and access and potential factors that can facilitate successful engagement in medicines access and pricing reform.
Speakers:
- Jillian Kohler – University of Toronto (moderator)
- Elizabeth Pfiester – T1International
- Pauline Londeix – Observatoire de la transparence dans les politiques du medicament (OTMeds)
- Zain Rizvi – Public Citizen
Webinar Recording Passcode: 7j8q#Yjr (no spaces)
March 2022
Topic: Using real-world data to generate evidence for informing pharmaceutical regulatory and reimbursement decisions
Description:
- In this 1.5 hour session, the panelists will discuss the feasibility and implications of using real-world data for evidence generation in support of regulatory approval, pricing and reimbursement.
Speakers:
- Wanrudee Isaranuwatchai – Director, Health Intervention & Technology Assessment Program HITAP, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
- Sukyeong Kim - Senior Research Fellow, National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency (NECA), Republic of Korea
- Joseph Ross – Professor of Medicine (General Medicine) and Professor of Public Health (Health Policy and Management), Yale School of Medicine, The United States of America
- Claudia Wild – Chief Executive Officer, Austrian Institute for Health Technology Assessment (AIHTA), Austria
Webinar Recording Passcode: $FWg8QfM (no spaces)
February 2022
Topic: What went on before, during and after pharmaceutical price negotiation
Description:
- In this 1.5 hour session, the panelists will share their stories about negotiating price to improve access to medicines in their countries. They will pull back the curtains and share their insights on how to use the arts and science of negotiation to bring various parties to a mutually acceptable middle ground.
Speakers:
- Francis Arickx – Head, Directorate of Pharmaceutical Policy, National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (RIZIV INAMI), Belgium
- Karen Binnekamp - Specialist Adviser (retired) Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Australia
- YingYao Chen – Professor of Health Services and Associate Dean of School of Public Health, Fudan University, China
- Saad Jaddoua – Chairman of King Hussein Cancer Center, Jordan
- Sonia Tarragona – Chief of Staff, Ministry of Health, Argentina
Webinar Recording Password: Webinar7 (no spaces)
January 2022
Topic: Pricing of medicines for rare diseases
Description:
- In this 1.5 hour session, the panelists will discuss a range of topics relating to access to and pricing of medicines for rare diseases. These include global epidemiology, patient perspectives, compassionate access programs, health technology assessment and the roles of government (e.g., competition authority).
Speakers:
- Shirley Xue Li Assistant Professor, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, China
- Yann Le Cam Chief Executive Officer, EURORDIS -Rare Diseases Europe
- Sheela Upadhyaya Rare Diseases & RAPID-C19 Strategic Advisor, Centre for Health Technology Evaluation, NICE, England
- Fatima Suleman Professor, School of Health Sciences, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Evidence-Based Practice, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- Ilan Akker Senior Inspector, Authority for Consumers and Markets, The Netherlands
Webinar Recording PASSCODE: K3i&u&+V (no spaces)
December 2021
Topic: Pharmaceutical procurement through tendering – what does success look like?
Description:
- The expert panelists will spend the hour sharing their insights on what it takes to organize or participate in a good competition for a contract to supply pharmaceutical products (i.e., tendering), and how to create a win-win in this competition.
Speakers:
- Joycelyn Azeez, Director of Pharmaceutical Services at the Ministry of Health, Ghana
- Prasanna Gunasena, Chairman of the State Pharmaceutical Company (SPC), Sri Lanka
- Claudio Jommi, Professor of Health Policy at SDA Bocconi, Milan, Italy
- Massimiliano Rocchi, Vice President EGUALIA, IT national association member of Medicines for Europe, and International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association, Associate VP Italy & Greece Accord Healthcare
Webinar Recording Passcode: z5sR*57a (no spaces)
November 2021
Topic: To be perfectly clear - What pharmaceutical pricing information is publicly available and how to use them
Description:
- The legendary late Professor Hans Rosling quipped with serious intent that “Lots of amazing data is buried behind stupid passwords and boring statistics”. Pharmaceutical pricing information seems widely available, but what is needed to make them accessible and useful? The panelists in this webinar will share their observations on pricing information from public websites, tender documents, and what is needed to ensure the clarity and accuracy of pricing information.
Speakers:
- Veronika Wirtz - Boston University
- Tom Wright - Transparency international
- Mihály Fazekas - Central European University
Webinar Recording Passcode: %^cih^P1 (no spaces)
September 2021
Topic: Unpacking biosimilar pricing policies: country examples promoting the use of biosimilar medicines toward affordable access
Description:
- In this webinar, experts will explore the pathways to accessing biosimilars in Denmark, Tunisia, and Colombia. They will discuss the evolution of policy and pricing for these products, highlighting the impact on affordability and patient access. They will also share their views on what the future would hold for biosimilar access and the pricing policy landscape.
Speakers:
- Dorthe Bartels - Amgros, Denmark
- Myriam Khrouf - Ministry of Health, Tunisia
- Javier Guzman - Center for Global Development (formerly Invima, Colombia)
Webinar Recording Passcode: gtK5n$X2 (no spaces)
August 2021
Topic: Is the grass always greener on the other side? History, rationale, and the dos and don’ts of external reference pricing
Description:
- Our invited panelists will revisit policy development of External Reference Pricing (ERP) in Austria, Canada, and Saudi Arabia over the past decades. The evolution of the policy rationale will be discussed, with a view to highlighting the dos and don’ts of ERP according to their experiences. They will also share their views on what the future would hold for EPR given changes in the international pricing policy landscape
Speakers:
- Sabine Vogler - Austrian National Public Health Institute, Austria
- Tanya Potashnik - Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, Canada
- Mohammad A. Alowairdhi - Saudi Food & Drug Authority, Saudi Arabia
Webinar Recording Passcode: 0+jq.vr%] (no spaces)
July 2021
Topic: How countries with small populations manage pharmaceutical pricing
Description:
- This webinar will present pharmaceutical pricing policies in countries with small populations. The panelists will share experiences in how to craft policy responses to improve access and mitigate challenges in their respective contexts.
Speakers:
- Sarah Fitt / Chloë Dimock - Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC), New Zealand
- Aishath Jaleela - Ministry of Health, The Maldives
- Kärt Veliste - Estonian Health Insurance Fund
- Miriam Naarendorp - Deputy Chair, Registration Committee for Packed Pharmaceuticals and former Head of the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate, Suriname