Studies of medicine price components in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) show variable and often high cumulative mark-ups, from 17%-84% in the public sector and 11%-6,894% in the private sector. The level of mark-ups among Organization for Economic Coorperation (OECD) countries also varies widely, from 2%-21% for wholesale mark-ups and from 4%-50% for retail mark-ups (pp.17,19). It is therefore important to find ways of improving efficiency and controlling costs in the pharmaceutical distribution chain.

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