Access to essential medicines and vaccines remains an uphill battle for approximately eighty percent of the two billion people living in lowand middle-income countries today.2 At the same time, efforts to shoulder the burden are routinely falling short in light of an ever-increasing disease burden and rising drug prices.3 Tiered pricing a strategy that offers drugs and vaccines at more affordable prices to those that have less/ no ability to pay has been proposed as a potential solution to this problem by a number of studies. It has been argued that, by charging different prices in different markets, pharmaceutical firms can promote access while also allocating returns on research and development (R&D) investments.4

Tiered pricing strategies can promote access to essential medicines and vaccines while allocating returns on R&D investments, potentially benefiting low- and middle-income countries.

A Proposal for New Pricing Approaches to Enhance Access to Medicines

Key Takeaway: Tiered pricing strategies can promote access to essential medicines and vaccines while allocating returns on R&D investments, potentially benefiting low- and middle-income countries.