@article{4208cefd46864657bbca86b90883ede7,
title = "Prices of combination medicines and single-molecule antihypertensive medicines in India's private health care sector",
abstract = "More than half of patients with hypertension require two or more medicines to control blood pressure. Combinations of anti-hypertensive medicines are available as Single Pill Combinations (SPCs) or Single Agent Pills (SAPs). SPCs of two or more anti-hypertensive medicines facilitate simpler dosing schedules, decrease pill burden, increase adherence to medicine, and simplify procurement and distribution. Despite this, equivalent combinations of separate pills (SAPs) are often prescribed instead of SPCs under the assumption that SAPs are priced lower. This study compared prices of anti-hypertensive SPCs and equivalent SAPs in the private health care sector of India. High sales volume anti-hypertensive SPCs and SAPs were selected from 2018 private sector pharmaceutical sales data. SPCs and SAPs price information was collected from online pharmacy websites between November 2019 and January 2020. Anti-hypertensive SPCs represent approximately 39.1% of India's private sector anti-hypertensive drug market. Multiple manufacturers produce the same top-selling SPCs, suggesting a viable and competitive market. A comparison of SPCs and SAPs across different manufacturers showed that the lowest prices of both SPCs and the sum of component SAPs were nearly identical across different manufacturers. An analysis of dual-drug SPCs and SAPs by the same manufacturer showed that most manufacturers (five of six) had priced their SPCs higher than SAPs. These observations suggest that the price of SPCs could be lowered to match the combined price of the component SAPs, and manufacturing costs and market forces do not present a barrier to the implementation of anti-hypertensive SPCs.",
keywords = "India, hypertension, medicines, price, private sector",
author = "Sagri Negi and Dinesh Neupane and Sahoo, {Swagata Kumar} and Tanushree Mahajan and Kishan Swaroop and Moran, {Andrew E.} and Bhawna Sharma and Pathni, {Anupam Khungar}",
note = "Funding Information: This analysis was conducted by IQVIA, a private health care market research company, on behalf of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies. The analysis was supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, through a grant to the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Inc (CDC Foundation). Resolve to Save Lives is funded by grants from Bloomberg Philanthropies; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and Gates Philanthropy Partners, which is funded with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation. We would also like to acknowledge the support of the mentorship collaboration consisting of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Resolve to Save Lives, World Hypertension League, and Lancet Commission on Hypertension Group. Funding Information: This analysis was conducted by IQVIA, a private health care market research company, on behalf of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies. The analysis was supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, through a grant to the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Inc (CDC Foundation). Resolve to Save Lives is funded by grants from Bloomberg Philanthropies; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and Gates Philanthropy Partners, which is funded with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation. We would also like to acknowledge the support of the mentorship collaboration consisting of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Resolve to Save Lives, World Hypertension League, and Lancet Commission on Hypertension Group. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 The Authors. The Journal of Clinical Hypertension published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.",
year = "2021",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1111/jch.14143",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "23",
pages = "738--743",
journal = "Journal of Clinical Hypertension",
issn = "1524-6175",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",
number = "4",
}