A LT H 1 7 ( 2 0 1 4 ) A 7 1 9 -A 8 1 3 42 molecules which were sold in each country for the period. The countries were organised into the WHO regions. In total, around 1,000,000 unique national, product brands were accessed for the analysis. Results: Pharmaceutical price indices vary substantially between regions. The Asian regions recorded the lowest prices. The indices were as follows: South-East Asian Region D 0.21; South-East Asian Region B 0.31; European Region B 0.37 Western Pacific Region A; 0.44 European Region A 0.45; African Region E 0.46; European Region C 0.49; Western Pacific Region B 0.51; Eastern Mediterranean Region D; 0.54; Region of the Americas D 0.87; Region of the Americas B 0.90; Eastern Mediterranean Region B 1.11. ConClusions: This is the largest exercise ever undertaken in comparing international pharmaceutical prices. It also employs a more robust method than previous studies. The analysis shows Asian region pharmaceutical prices are the lowest in the world.

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