The societal value of pharmaceuticals. Balancing industrial and healthcare policy.

Pharmaceutical policy arises through an ongoing process of negotiation and interaction among the key players in the pharmaceutical market: consumers, industry, healthcare providers and government. There is constant discussion about the just distribution of reward between cost-containment goals and the goals of research and development in the pharmaceutical arena. All industrial countries are under pressure to control healthcare costs, but it is unclear how cost-containment policies will influence industrial policies for pharmaceuticals. The pharmaceutical industry is an easy target for governmental cost-containment policies. The industry is driven by 3 issues: access to consumers, access to new technology and new competitive realities. The launch of a new, innovative product that represents a significant therapeutic breakthrough is becoming increasingly difficult, and a major challenge for politicians and governments will be to balance the need for cost-effective use of drugs and the need to create a favourable climate for innovation. Previously, there was generally little competition between pharmaceutical companies, but those companies will now have to undergo fundamental and comprehensive changes. Particularly, it will be important to have extremely well developed and integrated management systems focusing on both consumers and costs.