The Impact of Price Negotiations on Public Procurement Prices and Access to 8 Innovative Cancer Medicines in a Middle-Income Country: The Case of Mexico

Background: To mitigate the effect of high prices, in 2008 Mexico established a commission that negotiates single procurement prices for patented medicines in the public sector. Objectives: We assessed the possible effect of price negotiations on the prices of new essential cancer medicines in Mexico between 2010 and 2016 and on access to these new cancer medicines. Methods: We retrieved the public procurement prices and volume of 8 selected innovative cancer medicines in Mexico in addition to their maximum retail prices in the private sector. We calculated the median, interquartile (25%-75%) range, and maximum and minimum public procurement prices to analyze price changes and trends. We assessed changes between the maximum retail prices and the public procurement prices and changes in the volume procured from 2010 to 2016. Results: Between 2010 and 2016, the prices of selected patented cancer medicines in the public sector decreased by 40% to 85%, expressed in US dollars. When expressed in Mexican pesos, public prices for 5 medicines reduced and others remained stable, whereas prices increased in the private sector over the same period. Procurement prices were not uniform between and within public institutions. The volumes of selected cancer medicines supplied in the public sector increased over the years, suggesting better access. Conclusion: Although direct causality is difficult to prove, the establishment of the negotiating commission seems to have led to reduced prices and possibly better access in the public sector. Medicine procurement by public hospitals should be monitored to ensure that negotiated prices benefit all institutions.