[Current problems in assessing drug prices].

Two reasons provide historical justification for controlling drug prices: safeguarding the consumer and safeguarding public demand. Due to the increased presence of the "third payer" in public health systems this second reason has become more important. Nevertheless, over the last decade, a third purpose has attached to public control of prices: promotion of drug manufacturers economic development. The justification offered for this is that development of pharmaceutical companies contributes to the economic growth of the host country by creating employment, exports and research activity. The situations in Germany, Great Britain and United States are often cited in support of this thesis. As a model for price policy in Italy, however, it has not been successful. The rapid growth of prices in fact has not created greater employment and the foreign exchange deficit has risen rapidly. In other words the growing cost of drugs to the National Health Service has not produced hoped-for economic benefits. It would therefore be opportune to modify the mechanisms of price control by seeking a better balance in the interests involved (safeguarding public demand versus manufacturers economic growth). Methodologies available point to the evaluation of the therapeutic utility of a drug as a useful tool for this purpose. By this method the price of a new drug may only be higher than that of a drug already on the market if its therapeutic utility (which does not coincide only with clinical effectiveness) is greater. Appropriate evaluation techniques of benefits deriving from a new drug (cost-effectiveness and cost-utility) do exist and can be taken into consideration in a new method of calculating drug price.