As global competition intensifies, research and development (R & D) organizations need to enhance their strategic management in order to become goal-directed communities for innovation and allocate their resources consistent with their overall R & D strategy. The world pharmaceutical market has undergone fast, unprecedented, tremendous and complex changes in the last several years. The pharmace...

Introduction: Evaluation of pharmaceutical systems performance is an essential prerequisite for promoting evidence-based policy-making, improvement in health system performance. This study attempts to evaluate the performance of Iran pharmaceutical system based on the world health organization (WHO)'s indicators, including access, quality, and rational use of medicines. Methods: In this c...

Despite the well-known risks of smoking, policy, social pressure, and accessible cessation programs, tens of millions of North American adults continue smoking rather than quitting or switching to less harmful non-combustion nicotine products. We surveyed people smoking in public in Edmonton, Canada (n = 242, year = 2007) to investigate smokers' reasons for resisting switching to low-risk nicot...

This paper describes the design and operation of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and then proceeds with an analysis of current policy deliberations which identifies an extension of the market as predominant trend. The paper demonstrates that the conditions which historically sustained the scheme are now present to a lesser extent. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme has functioned as a univer...

According to data from the most recent edition of the Canadian Rx Atlas, Quebec was the province with the highest total spending per capita on prescription drugs. The difference between Quebec and the rest of Canada was 35%, which translates into $1.5 billion dollars of extra spending. This analysis explores the economic cost drivers of the higher level of pharmaceutical spending in Quebec. Whi...

In recent years there has been a growing concern that pharmaceutical corporations have been profiteering at the expense of the public good. That industry is, after all, one of the most successful in the United States with an average profit margin of 15 percent. It has yielded investors an annual return of 25% over the last decade.' But is this level of corporate "success" consistent with our mo...

This paper examines the rationale for intellectual property protection in the development of new pharmaceutical products. Prior survey studies of R&D executives have found that patents play a more critical role in appropriating the benefits of innovation in pharmaceuticals compared to other high tech industries. This paper considers why this is so based on an analysis of the economic characteri...

The current view is that the financing of R&D for neglected diseases should be provided by the public sector, while R&D itself is best carried out by the private pharmaceutical sector. In response to this model, most current policy proposals are aimed at mobilising substantial public finances to commercialise the neglected disease market, thereby allowing it to compete in company R&D priorities...

As global competition intensifies, research and development (R & D) organizations need to enhance their strategic management in order to become goal-directed communities for innovation and allocate their resources consistent with their overall R & D strategy. The world pharmaceutical market has undergone fast, unprecedented, tremendous and complex changes in the last several years. The pharmace...

Despite progressive universal drug coverage and pharmaceutical policies found in other countries, Canada remains the only developed nation with a publicly funded healthcare system that does not include universal coverage for prescription drugs. In the absence of a national pharmacare plan, a province may choose to cover a specific sub-population for certain drugs. Altho...