STAT: Why the Italian health minister is pushing for global transparency on drug pricing
“Last month, the Italian government asked the World Health Assembly to adopt a resolution to require drug makers to disclose their R&D and production costs, as well as prices charged for medicines and vaccines. Italian Health Minister Giulia Grillo wrote to the World Health Organization that ‘international action is required to improve transparency’ in order to widen access to pharmaceuticals. … In effect, the proposal would set an international standard, but is likely to get pushback from the pharmaceutical industry. We spoke with Grillo, who publicly announced the move on Tuesday, about the effort…” (Silverman, 3/12).