Emerging themes and factors influencing the prices of biotherapeutics

Abstract

The high prices of biotherapeutics remain an area of concern for various national and international agencies working toward developing strategies for monitoring, evaluating, and managing the prices of medicines to promote equitable access. This paper deploys a unique study design to identify emerging themes and determine the elements influencing the price of biotherapeutics specifically biosimilars. This review is based on a bibliometric and qualitative synthesis approach to generate a new line of thinking for future studies. The findings enable knowledge assimilation for policy decisions. The results indicate that while the factors like market share, market competition, and pricing policies are extensively explored by researchers, the factors such as innovation capability, product development costs, and local factors like regulatory ecosystem can be further examined as potential influencers of prices. Further, pricing frameworks and regulations designed for generic drugs cannot be replicated to estimate the prices of biotherapeutics. As a result, policymakers must take the necessary actions to construct innovative pricing frameworks for this class of products that are in conformity with national policies, regulations, market dynamics, and economics. Moreover, studies on incentives and profit margins associated with the last‐mile delivery and accessibility of high‐cost biotherapeutics are essential for their efficient adoption.