COVID-19 and the global public health: Tiered pricing of pharmaceutical drugs as a price-reducing policy tool

Abstract

The current COVID-19 pandemic has put the problem of equitable access to health technologies in the limelight because governments, even in the economically advanced countries, are struggling to meet the health needs of their populations. Tiered pricing of innovative health technologies, which involves the division of markets into different tiers or groups, provides a legitimate policy tool to alleviate some of the COVID-19 financial burdens on global health systems. Differential pricing denotes the practice of companies to charge different prices for the same product depending on the different classes of purchasers. This paper examines the legality and practical significance of tiered pricing as a price-reducing policy option and discusses some of the key limitations of this important policy tool. This study proposes the adoption of a global framework for sustainable pricing and tiered pricing of innovative health technologies. The proposed global framework will help in achieving a balance between fair access and fair profit levels.