International Reference Pricing: A Five-Step Strategic Approach
In most countries, national pricing and market access (P&MA) authorities consider the price of the same pharmaceutical in other countries – this is called international reference pricing (IRP). Pharmaceutical companies are facing an increasingly complicated IRP landscape with diverse regulations. How can a company strategically approach the challenges of IRP?
International reference pricing, also known as external reference pricing, is a widespread method of pharmaceutical pricing. It describes the process in which national decision bodies compare cross-country costs in order to set or influence the price of a product in its own country. International reference pricing is becoming more and more important around the globe; the number of markets using IRP as a mechanism for national price control is constantly growing, and those which have already implemented IRP are regularly introducing stricter and more challenging rules.
