ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the background to the subject of drug price-formation mechanisms. It covers concepts and theories related to drug pricing, and provides case studies of six major countries and regions that were included in the research. China has already entered the new era that is being called ‘Healthy China.’ In October 2015, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China called for ‘promoting the building up of a Healthy China. Exorbitant drug prices have been a major and ongoing cause of the overly swift rise in China’s healthcare costs and the relatively heavy cost burden that people have to bear. The way in which China’s system has developed has been deeply impacted by the country’s economic structures.
