APAC’s price controls, tendering processes pose risks to pharma firms

Such practices could impact revenues and market access.

Mandatory price controls and tendering processes in the majority of Asia-Pacific (APAC) markets could impact revenues and market access for multinational pharmaceutical companies, a BMI report said.

In markets such as India and Japan, mandatory price controls are a major concern for companies, as these controls are non-negotiable and can lead to substantial revenue losses.

Meanwhile, Mainland China, Indonesia, and Malaysia employ tendering processes or centralised procurement programmes that can result in significant price reductions, particularly for off-patent medicines and biosimilar drugs.

“This trend is particularly evident in increasingly cost-conscious markets like China, where innovative drugs face significant price cuts to gain access to the National Reimbursement Drug List,” the report said.

International reference pricing is another mechanism used in some APAC markets, which benchmarks drug prices against the lowest list prices in reference countries,

“Whilst this methodology aims to keep healthcare and pharmaceutical costs low, this pricing mechanism often diminishes the value of innovative medicines,” it added.