ABSTRACT
The pricing of pharmaceuticals, like the pricing of many kinds of products, has traditionally been an uncertain endeavor. Regardless of the information gathered and the research and analysis conducted, one can never be sure that the price decided upon is the correct price. As we approach the millennium, may we expect this specter of uncertainty to remain? Will and Ariel Durant, noted historians of this century, advised: “If you want the present and the future to be different from the past, Spinoza tells us, find out the causes that made it what it was and bring different causes to bear. “ In business-specific terms, Drucker admonishes: “Long-range planning does not deal with future decisions, but with the future of present decisions.” Let us review recent pharmaceutical pricing trends and decisions and consider the extent to which they may affect the future.
