Posted by Michael Wonder on 12 Mar 2019
Why the Italian health minister is pushing for global transparency on drug pricing
12 March 2019 - Last month, the Italian government asked the World Health Assembly to adopt a resolution to require drug makers to disclose their R&D and production costs, as well as prices charged for medicines and vaccines.
Italian health minister Giulia Grillo wrote to the World Health Organization that “international action is required to improve transparency” in order to widen access to pharmaceuticals.
If the resolution is enacted, the WHO would have a mandate to collect and analyse data on clinical trial outcomes, assess patents, and provide a forum for countries to share information on prices, R&D and marketing costs, R&D subsidies, and public sector investments.
