Accessibility and availability of drugs has been a matter of great concern for health services all over the world, especially for less developed countries. The World Health Organization has devoted considerable time to this matter. Although the essential drug policy has been well-accepted by health agencies and NGOs, the pharmaceutical industry has not proven willing to produce essential drugs at affordable prices. The purpose of this study is to examine price levels of essential drugs in Mexico. The evaluation was performed through a comparison of international and national prices for leading drugs in the respective therapeutic categories and included in the WHO model list of essential drugs. The study shows clearly that prices of essential brand-name drugs in Mexico are very high. Per capita consumption has remained stable despite a sharp decrease in the Mexican GDP since 1995. The article discusses the reasons for this and proposes measures to deal with the problem.
Essential Drugs; Drug Prices; Health Policy
