The implications of external price referencing on pharmaceutical list prices in Europe

Findings indicate small price variation for pharmaceuticals that points towards the occurrence of price-convergence. The relatively minor association of EPR with pharmaceutical list prices could be explained by manufacturers' compensatory mechanisms including confidential price reductions and discounts while maintaining high list prices in countries with strong price-control measures or delayed product launch in countries with traditionally lower prices. Consequently, EPR cannot be directly associated with narrow European price corridor, and lower income countries still have slightly lower list prices.