UAE medicine price survey

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Contents copied from E-Drug as fair use. Abbreviated.Dr Vijay Thawani-------------------------------------------------------------E-DRUG: New pricing bulletin & results from UAE price survey-------------------------------------------------

A new bulletin entitled Medicine Pricing Matters is available on : http://www.haiweb.org/medicineprices/

Key findings of UAE survey :- Expensive originator brands were being purchased by the government (about 5 times the reference prices) as well as much cheaper generics (whose prices were similar to the reference prices)- Poor availability in the public sector where medicines are free (61% for generics, 17% for originator brands) (Can you believe this? UAE is not short of money! Vijay)- Availablity in the private sector was excellent for originator brands (100%) but not cheaper generics (74%)- Extremely high patient prices in the private pharmacies (originator brands were about 24 times the reference prices; lowest priced generics were about 14 times the reference prices)- Lowest priced generics were generally affordable when purchased by the lowest paid unskilled government worker in the private sector - but originator brands were far less affordable e.g. a person with arthritis could have to work 2.5 days to buy a month's supply of diclofenac 25mg tabs originator brand (Voltaren) but less than a day for lowest priced generic equivalents.

Price components were not measured but wholesale and retail margins were each considered to be about 20%.