The pricing and reimbursement of pharmaceuticals.

This paper identifies common research themes arising from the papers on the pricing and reimbursement of pharmaceuticals presented elsewhere in this supplement. These include the following: How effective has cost containment been? What is the base case against which this is measured? Is there any evidence that research and development is changing in value or character as a result? How can the implied contract between government and industry be made more explicit to avoid opportunistic behaviour?