OECD report warns of rising drug prices, urges new approach

A new report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned of pressures in public health spending, blaming pricing policies in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

The report provides recommendations to policy makers in an effort to promote wider access to healthcare services and greater affordability.

Public health bodies are spending too much on high-cost products, the authors claim, a problem that would be solved by a “rebalancing” of the negotiating relationship between payers and manufacturers: