Anti-Monopoly Regulation On Excessive Pricing Of Medicine

The issue of medicine excessive pricing is one of the current focal issues in the international public health field.Judging from the recent practice of anti-monopoly laws at home and abroad,not only the problem of excessive pricing of generic medicine is widespread,but the problem of excessive pricing of patented medicine has also begun to enter the vision of anti-monopoly law.The excessive pricing of medicine is different from other improper pricing behaviors of medicine.It is based on unilateral pricing behaviors,with the main purpose of directly obtaining monopoly profits.It is often difficult to be self-corrected by the market and also closely related to drug innovation activities.It is not accidental that the problem of medicine has frequently occurred in various countries recently.Factors such as lack of elasticity of demand for drugs,solidification of the medicine market structure and immature buyer power have provided a breeding ground for its birth.The current excessive pricing of medicine issue poses a challenge to the legal regulation system of drug prices,and the application of traditional legal regulation paths such as the drug price monitoring system,the drug patent system and the drug safety monitoring system are facing difficulties.In this context,the proposal of anti-monopoly regulatory path on medicine excessive pricing can provide a new practical plan.The anti-monopoly regulatory system on medicine excessive pricing is the result of comprehensive modeling of multiple theories.The general theoretical basis of excessive pricing anti-monopoly regulatory lies in the Freiburg school theory and effective competition theory.However,considering the particularity of medicine excessive pricin,the anti-monopoly regulation of medicine excessive pricing also needs to obtain special theoretical support from the public health theory and Pharmacoeconomics.Investigating the application and practice of the basic theories of the anti-monopoly regulation of excessive pricing,the Freiburg school theory has positive significance for the legitimacy of the anti-monopoly regulation of medicine excessive pricing but its theory has limitations.The dominant theoretical model of monopoly regulation is the effective competition theory model;at the same time,public health theory and Pharmacoeconomics also have a certain impact in the practice of anti-monopoly regulation of medicine excessive pricing.In the future,under the dominance of the effective competition theory model,public health theory can further play a coordinating function in the relevant market definition and legal responsibility of medicine excessive pricing,while Pharmacoeconomics can provide more information for determining medicine excessive pricing.Pharmacoeconomics is an appropriate and scientific economic analysis tool.The prerequisite for the implementation of medicine excessive pricing is that the drug operator not only has a dominant market position,but also has a special position with an overwhelming advantage or lock-in effect.In the process of defining drug-related markets,the public health factors of medicine are very important,and they have a profound impact on the definition of commodity markets and geographic markets.The definition of drug-related markets should adhere to the basic status of alternative analysis methods,and establish a comprehensive analysis thinking centered on the ATC3 classification system.When it comes to patented drugs,the relevant market definitions based on the above-mentioned ideas,in addition,the particularity of the patented products should also be considered.Regarding the determination of market dominance,the dynamic competition characteristics of the drug market and the theory of the scope of application of medicine excessive pricing anti-monopoly regulations have put forward higher requirements for its determination.Therefore,the determination of market dominance in the case of ultra-high pricing of drugs should not only adopt the market share standard of "absolute market dominance",but also pay attention to factors such as entry barriers,market development,buyer power,bilateral markets,and key resources.so on.In relation to the determination of the market dominance of patented drugs,it is necessary to comprehensively consider factors such as the scope of patent protection,the attributes of drug intervention programs,and the types of patented drugs.The judgment of medicine excessive pricing is the unity of judgment mode and judgment method.Regarding the judging model of medicine excessive pricing,the effective competitive price judging model is more in line with the requirements of effective competition theory than the "United Brand two-step method" judging model,but it still faces challenges in determining the benchmark price and judging criteria.Traditional judgment methods cannot provide a solution.In order to protect the interests of consumers and expand consumer surplus as much as possible without(seriously)damaging the interests of producers,the determination of medicine excessive pricing should be combined with Pharmacoeconomics methods to build an Medicine Excessive Pricing Two-step Judgment Mode:One is Pharmacoeconomic judgment,and the other is to consider Non-Pharmacoeconomic factors.When determining excessive pricing of generic drugs,the Pharmacoeconomics determination stage should adopt basically the same determination method for generic drugs and original drugs which have passed the patent protection period,but the highest price standards of the two are different.At Non-pharmacoeconomic factors consideration stage,if there are reasonable reasons for the pricing of generic drug companies,they should not be deemed to constitute excessive pricing.When determining the excessive pricing of patented drugs,the core of the determination lies in value pricing,which not only needs to consider the clinical value,but also the degree of innovation and continuous incentives for future innovation.Therefore,when determining,It must also be adjusted accordingly.Under the guidance of public health theory,the legal responsibility for the anti-monopoly regulation of medicine excessive pricing must be coordinated with the guarantee of drug availability.Anti-monopoly law enforcement agencies shoulder the special mission of promoting the effective implementation of the anti-monopoly regulatory system for medicine excessive pricing,and therefore must establish more complete anti-monopoly investigation procedures.The operator’s commitment system has certain system advantages in correcting the medicine excessive pricing,but the relevant procedures still need to be improved,and the content of the commitment must also reflect the demand for protection of drug availability.In addition to stopping illegal activities and fines,the anti-monopoly law penalties for medicine excessive pricing can also consider alternative remedies such as improving the transparency of drug prices and divesting related businesses.There is a natural connection between the drug patent compulsory licensing system and the anti-monopoly regulatory system on medicine excessive pricing.The future anti-monopoly regulatory system on medicine excessive pricing should strengthen the connection with the drug patent compulsory licensing system,and further exert the anti-monopoly law in ensuring the availability of drugs Unique features.