REG - AstraZeneca PLC - Annual Financial Report <Origin Href="QuoteRef">AZN.L</Origin> - Part 4

AstraZenecaAnnouncement

10/03/2015 11:01

- Part 4: For the preceding part double click  ID:nRSJ0188Hc 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
 of several health system delivery reforms included in the ACA has commenced and will continue until 2018. The ACA expands the patient population eligible for Medicaid and                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
 provides new insurance coverage for individuals through state and federally-operated health insurance exchanges. In general, patients enrolled in the exchanges are                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 subject to higher cost sharing obligations and may not have as robust access to prescription drugs as compared with patients enrolled in Medicare Part D or commercial                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
 plans. There will be ongoing scrutiny of the US pharmaceutical industry that could result in further government intervention and financial constraint. For more                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
 information, please see Regulatory requirements and Pricing pressure in the Marketplace section from page 16 and page 17, respectively.In the EU, efforts by the EC to                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
 reduce inconsistencies and improve standards in the disparate national pricing and reimbursement systems met with little immediate success as Member States guard their                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
 right to make healthcare budget decisions. The industry continues to be exposed in Europe to various ad hoc cost-containment measures and reference pricing mechanisms,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
 which impact prices. There is a trend towards increasing transparency and comparison of prices among EU Member States. Recent controversy regarding the high price of a                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
 drug marketed by one of our competitors for chronic hepatitis C may provoke further EU collaboration and may eventually lead to a change in the overall pricing and                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 reimbursement landscape. Concurrently, many markets are adopting the use of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to provide a rigorous evaluation of the clinical efficacy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
 of a product, at, or post, launch. HTA evaluations are also increasingly being used to assess the clinical effect, as well as cost-effectiveness, of products in a                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
 particular health system. This comes as payers and policymakers attempt to increase efficiencies in the use and choice of pharmaceutical products. Further information                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
 regarding these pressures is contained in Regulatory requirements and Pricing pressure in the Marketplace section from page 16 and page 17, respectively