Pressure to slash drug prices from both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, as well as leaders and consumer advocates around the globe, could spur changes to the drug pricing model, according to Fortune.
Setting drug prices based on how much they improve patients' health, or their value, rather than how many pills or vials are sold would ensure that limited funds yield the highest benefits. Additionally, such a pricing model would pay for the most promising medical advances in the future, according to the report.
However, shifting the entire pharmaceutical industry to a new model requires vast improvements in data collection, as well as a new mindset among drug company executives.
"Eventually, we are going to get there," said Kurt Kessler, managing principal at ZS Associates in Zurich, which advises companies on sales and marketing strategies, according to the report. "But it is a long, tough slog because it's difficult to get the right data and agree on what the right outcomes are to measure."
The U.S. drug market accounts for 40 percent of global drug sales, according to Fortune. Given the pledges by both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to take steps to curb drug prices, some pharmaceutical company executives have admitted to preparing for a "confrontational" period in relations with lawmakers, according to the report.
But some drug makers agree the pricing model needs to change. Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez believes drug makers must adopt value-based pricing models, such as the performance-based deal Novartis recently made with two U.S. insurers for its new heart failure drug.
Similarly, GSK CEO Andrew Witty believes an outcomes-based approach will slowly become the norm in more disease areas and geographies. "Whoever wins the election in the U.S., and also in Europe, we will see those conversations play out over the next few years," Mr. Witty told Reuters. "I am not particularly expecting anything dramatic in 2017. I would say it is worth keeping an eye open for evolution of change, probably in '18 and '19."