Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Medicine-related articles/RFC on pharmaceutical drug prices

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  • Editors are generally opposed to inclusion of prices in the lede. While basic calculations are not considered original research, the pricing statements in the examples require interpretation of primary sources that may not be straightforward. This makes the editorial claims difficult to verify, and especially so for drugs whose prices are not widely discussed in published sources. In addition, there are concerns that proper explanation of the situation for the indicated price would give the price undue weight.
  • There is no consensus on whether drug prices should be included in articles at all. Where secondary sources discuss pricing extensively (insulin being a frequently cited example), that information may be worth including in the article; where there is little discussion of pricing in secondary sources, it generally should not be included. Drugs which fall into the grey area between these extremes should be discussed on a case-by-case basis. Where pricing information is included, claims should be sourced to reliable, secondary sources and not solely primary source data from price databases.
  • Whether to include prices in the infobox was not widely discussed but is unlikely to find consensus. Arguments against inclusion in the lede would similarly apply to inclusion in the infobox, and editors should be aware that inclusion of prices in the infobox is likely to be opposed in most cases.

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These examples of drug prices for generic pharmaceutical drugs have been taken from the leads of articles. Do you think that this content complies with Wikipedia's standards for verifiability, due weight, no original research, what Wikipedia is not, and how to write a lead section? 23:02, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

The source:

All of these examples use the same source (chosen for simplicity and because it appears in many articles). The source, the International Medical Products Price Guide, is a database of prices voluntarily reported by some organizations and government agencies that buy or sell drugs in low and middle income countries. For example, a "supplier" price may be reported by a non-profit or a for-profit organization that sells drugs only to health organizations and government agencies in a single country, or one that sells drugs to buyers in many countries. The "buyer" price is most often reported by a government, and sometimes by a non-profit or medical missions organization. The "supplier" prices are usually more relevant than the buyer prices, as buyer prices do not include shipping, handling, insurance, or other costs, and some buyer prices involve unusual circumstances (such as atypical prices from local manufacturers). The database's website recommends the median supplier price as the most reliable option, assuming that enough data points are available. Read more about prices on the database's website.

Each database entry also includes some other information, such as the strength and dosage form of the specific drug for that entry (most drugs are available in different strengths; some are available in both liquid and pill forms; each strength and form gets a separate database entry, search here to find examples) and the defined daily dose (read the article). This database has not been updated since 2015. You can look at some statistics about entries in the MSH database.

Note: The online MSH Price Guide database appears to be down currently. Here is a PDF of the 2014 Price Guide

Three examples:

  • Ethosuximide:
    • What the lead says: The wholesale cost in the developing world is about US$27.77 per month as of 2014.[1]
    • What the source says about:
      • Suppliers: The cited database entry lists one supplier, which offered 250 mg tablets of ethosuximide for sale for US$0.1845 each (100 tablets per package) in 2014, only to organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
      • Buyers: The database has no information about buyer prices.
      • The drug: Each pill contains 250 mg of ethosuximide. The defined daily dose is 1.25 grams. There are no other entries in the MSH database for this drug.
  • Carbamazepine:
    • What the lead says: The wholesale cost in the developing world is about US$0.07 to US$0.24 per day as of 2015.[2]
    • What the source says about:
      • Suppliers: The cited database entry lists twelve suppliers that offered 200 mg tablets of carbamazepine for sale in packages ranging from 100 to 1,000 pills each in 2014. The lowest price reported by these 12 organizations was US$0.0138 per pill, and the highest price was US$0.0372 per pill, with a median price of US$0.0185 per pill, down 5%. The High/Low Ratio was 2.70.
      • Buyers: The cited database entry lists three governments plus the Central American Integration System. The lowest price reported by these four organizations was US$0.0155 per pill, and the highest price was US$0.0480 per pill with a median price of US$0.0202 per pill, down 9%. The High/Low ratio was 3.10.
      • The drug: Each pill contains 200 mg of carbamazepine. The defined daily dose is 1 gram. There are five other entries in the MSH database for this drug for 2015.[3]
  • Diazepam:
    • What the lead says: The wholesale cost in the developing world is about US$0.01 per dose as of 2014.[4]
    • What the source says about:
      • Suppliers: The cited database entry has no information about supplier prices.
      • Buyers: The cited database entry lists two governments that reported buying 10 mg tablets of diazepam in 2014. Both governments report a price of US$0.0100 per pill, so the lowest, highest, and median price are identical, and the High/Low ratio is 1.
      • The drug: Each pill contains 10 mg of diazepam. The defined daily dose is 10 mg. There are two other entries in the MSH database for this drug in 2014,[5] and three for 2015.[6]