Regulate access to medicines.

Summary Preface by Patrick Hassenteufel. How is the value of drugs defined? On what criteria? And what are the political implications? Cyril Benoît proposes to answer these questions by studying the evolution of drug regulation in different countries. Over the recent period, this activity has become increasingly important, in a context where the pharmaceutical industry is turning towards the production of increasingly targeted and expensive drugs. It shows that the setting of drug prices is fraught with political issues, between pressure from industry and patients, the imperatives of health system sustainability, and controversies surrounding the "price of life" itself. Based on extensive statistical data and a vast survey of interviews with industry, government officials and experts, Regulating Access to Medicines reveals the political nature of an activity that is too often reduced to its technical dimensions. A reference work that will provide valuable information for the reflection of actors in the health sector as well as for the public debate.