Enhancing Transparency in the Public Pharmaceutical Sector to Reduce Corruption While Increasing Trust: A Policy Brief for a Developing Country

Abstract

Transparency plays a pivotal role in good governance and is a key tool for achieving it. As the pharmaceutical sector is considered a critical component of the health governance framework, evaluating its performance and providing policy recommendations can remarkably contribute to this goal. Therefore, a policy brief was prepared using qualitative data from our previous study that evaluated transparency in Iran’s pharmaceutical regulatory sector. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted in the mentioned study between November 2016 and July 2017, and its quantitative results have been published previously. To update the data, current laws and regulations were also reviewed to understand the context in 2024. In addition, the main findings and suggestions of Esfandiari et al (2021)were meticulously reviewed to help improve the recommendations. The policy recommendations derived from the interviewees’ discussions confirmed the necessity of creating and implement more transparent guidelines, enhancing accountability mechanisms, mandating the transparency of clinical trials, establishing evidence-based selection processes, and implementing transparent procurement systems.