Prices
Every European market publishes its medicine prices differently: its own list, its own identifiers, its own mix of ex-factory, wholesale, pharmacy and reimbursement prices. MPA collects the official lists, aligns the price types and keeps the history, so a price in one market can be compared with a price in another on the same basis.
What it holds
- Published national list prices of medicines at presentation level, from the official price lists.
- The published price type for every price, with its VAT status, so like is compared with like.
- The source and date on every record, so each price can be checked against the list it came from.
- The history of each price, so movement over time can be seen.
- Markets
- European markets.
- Not included
- Net prices. Rebates and discounts are confidential; the dataset holds the published prices.
Who uses it, and why
- Parallel traders and wholesalersTo see the published price in each candidate source market, at which rung, and how it has moved.
- Procurement and buyersTo compare the price they pay with other European markets, on the same basis.
- Generics and biosimilar companiesTo see what a product is worth in each market before the field crowds.
- Originators, brand and portfolio teamsTo see how published pricing is moving for their products and the ones they compete with.
- Consultancies and advisersThe published prices across the markets in scope, for a market entry study or a valuation.
Questions it answers
What is the published price of this presentation in each market?
Which price type is it: ex-factory, wholesale, pharmacy or reimbursement?
Where is the differential between two markets, read on the same rung?
How has the price moved, and when?
Is the product still on the price list?
How does our price compare with the rest of Europe?
How it is searched
Assessing a product
- 1Search by substance or product.
- 2Read the published price for each presentation in each market, with its price type, VAT status, source and date.
- 3Compare markets on the same price type.
- 4Read the history to see how the price has moved.
Finding opportunities
- 1Work through a whole list of products in one go to compare their prices across markets.
- 2Find where the differential between a source and a destination market is widest.
- 3Add parallel import licences and the patent position to see whether a differential can be traded, and for how long.
- 4Add NHS prescribing data to see what is actually used in England and its value.
Expert support, included
Which price type a figure is, how VAT and margins sit in it, and how far a published price is from what is actually paid are questions we answer as part of every subscription.
What to read first
All resources- PricesHow medicine list prices are published across EuropeThere is no European price list. Each country publishes its own, in its own format, showing a different point on the price ladder, on a different schedule, and some publish nothing free at all. A country-by-country map of the official sources, written for people comparing prices across borders.
- PricesEx-factory, wholesale, pharmacy, reimbursementA medicine has at least four prices in every country, and national lists publish different ones. What each means, how they are built from one another, and the two mistakes that account for most bad cross-border comparisons.
- PricesList price versus net priceThe price on a national list is rarely the price anyone pays. Confidential rebates, managed-entry agreements, clawbacks, tender prices and wholesale discounts all sit between the two. What the gap is made of, where it is largest, and how to work with published prices when the real ones are hidden.
- PricesExternal reference pricing in EuropeMost European countries set or check medicine prices by reference to prices in other countries. Which countries reference which, how the baskets and formulas work, and why a price cut in one small market can move prices across the continent, and parallel trade with it.
- PricesVAT on medicines in EuropeVAT on medicines runs from zero to the full standard rate depending on the country and on whether the product is prescribed. Published retail prices usually include it; manufacturer prices never do. The rates, the structural differences, and the arithmetic for comparing prices across borders.
- PricesWholesale and pharmacy margins on medicines in EuropeBetween a manufacturer's price and a pharmacy's shelf sit two regulated margins, and no two countries set them the same way. Percentages, fixed fees, degressive scales and caps: how the systems are built, worked examples, and what the structure means for the price gap that parallel trade and procurement work with.
See MPA Search in action
A free online demonstration with our team, with time for your questions.