Are drug prices in the United States higher than in other countries? The answer to this question is not as simple as it may seem. Patricia Danzon and her colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School have recently published three articles that explore the complex issues involved in making international price comparisons and measuring the effects of price control schemes used in several foreign countries. In this presentation, Danzon will explain how price comparisons are affected by foreign exchange rate fluctuations and the selection of products that are used in the comparisons. She will present her own estimates of how prices of pharmaceuticals in the United States compare to Canada and other countries and how the use of price controls is affecting the availability of new products. Her research on these topics, recently published by Health Affairs Web Exclusive and by the National Bureau of Economic Research, is available:

• Prices and Availability of Pharmaceuticals
• Reference Pricing of Pharmaceuticals for Medicare
• The Impact of Price Regulation on the Launch Delay of New Drugs