ABSTRACT
The pharmaceutical market is a fundamental element of the health care sector. This chapter reviews the main elements driving its decision making: R&D investment, patents, the introduction of new drugs both from the perspective to carry out phase IV trials, and in terms of the acceptance of those new products for reimbursement by third-party payers. Then, we turn our attention to regulatory issues aimed at enhancing price competition in the health care market and to contain the public pharmaceutical cost. Among the most popular regulatory policy measures we find the promotion of generic drugs and the implementation of reference prices. Finally, the retail pharmacy market is briefly discussed, namely the rationale for entry restrictions.
