From price administration to market regulation: issues and modalities of drug pricing in France since 1948.

Summary This article examines the evolution of government pricing of drugs in France since 1948. While the objectives of this policy have remained the same for 70 years (to ensure patient access to quality treatments without burdening the accounts of the Health Insurance or compromising the development of the industry), the concrete modalities of this policy have evolved considerably, moving from unilateral administration of prices by the State to co-regulation of the drug market. This transformation has led the representatives of the State and the Health Insurance (the Economic Committee for Health Products) to deal with a growing number of actors (manufacturers, independent experts, health professionals, but also policies practiced in other countries). On the contrary, the scope of regulation has been extended to all the players and systems that determine expenditure on reimbursed drugs.