Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Value Health Reg Issues. 2020 May;21:113-119. doi: 10.1016/j.vhri.2019.09.004. Epub 2019 Nov 6.
The SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) is a geopolitical organization composed of 8 neighboring countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The objective of this study was to compare the prices of some selected drugs in SAARC countries.
A list of 24 drugs was prepared based on certain inclusion and exclusion criteria. The retail prices of the drugs were determined from different sources and verified manually in the open market. The prices obtained in local currencies were converted into US dollars for comparison purposes. In another analysis, the gross domestic product (GDP) of each country was factored for comparative analysis.
Out of the 23 drugs, 17 comparisons across countries were statistically different at P < .05. These analyses revealed large differences in drug prices among SAARC countries. The GDP-adjusted median drug prices revealed a more polarized picture, with Nepal generally having the highest prices (19 out of 24 drugs) and Sri Lanka having the lowest (19 out of 24 drugs). For example, the widely used antipsychotic drug risperidone was 7 times more expensive in Pakistan ($0.316) compared with Sri Lanka ($0.045). Adjusting for GDP made risperidone more than 18 times more expensive ($21.90 and $1.20) across the same 2 countries.
Prices of selected drugs varied markedly in SAARC countries. After adjusting for GDP, drug prices became more polarized across countries, with Nepal featuring the highest prices. In determining drug prices, the country's GDP and the population's purchasing power need to be taken into account.
南盟（南亚区域合作联盟）是一个由 8 个邻国组成的地缘政治组织：阿富汗、孟加拉国、不丹、印度、马尔代夫、尼泊尔、巴基斯坦和斯里兰卡。本研究的目的是比较南盟国家某些选定药物的价格。
根据某些纳入和排除标准，编制了一份 24 种药物的清单。从不同来源确定药物的零售价格，并在公开市场上手动验证。将以当地货币计算的价格转换为美元，以便进行比较。在另一项分析中，考虑了每个国家的国内生产总值（GDP）以进行比较分析。
在 23 种药物中，有 17 种药物在各国之间的比较在 P <.05 时有统计学差异。这些分析表明，南盟国家之间的药物价格存在很大差异。经 GDP 调整后的药物价格中位数显示出更为两极分化的情况，尼泊尔的价格普遍较高（24 种药物中有 19 种），斯里兰卡的价格较低（24 种药物中有 19 种）。例如，广泛使用的抗精神病药物利培酮在巴基斯坦的价格是斯里兰卡的 7 倍（0.316 美元对 0.045 美元）。经 GDP 调整后，利培酮在这两个国家的价格差异超过 18 倍（21.90 美元和 1.20 美元）。
南盟国家选定药物的价格差异显著。经 GDP 调整后，药物价格在各国之间变得更加两极分化，尼泊尔的价格最高。在确定药物价格时，需要考虑到国家的 GDP 和人口的购买力。
