Data · Methodology
How we verify medicine prices
The full process behind every figure on Jivan: where anchor prices come from, how derived prices are calculated, what each label means, and the limitations we will not pretend away.
The five-step process
Anchor collection
For each molecule we establish anchor prices as reference ranges, not single points: a typical US/EU retail price band for the pack described, and a typical Indian retail market price actually paid at a pharmacy — not the printed MRP on the box. Both are normalized to USD cents for comparison.
Labelling
Every entry then gets a status label that never changes silently: “Market checked” means cross-checked against documented reference ranges. “Derived” means it was computed from a same-molecule anchor using the formula below. We do not publish invented numbers marked as verified.
Derived price computation
Derived entries scale from their molecule's documented anchor: multiply the anchor price by the strength factor and pack-size factor of the variant, with a small deterministic range to reflect manufacturer spread. The exact anchor each entry was derived from is named on the page.
derived = anchor × strengthFactor × packFactor( × manufacturerJitter )Indexation separation
Only market-checked anchors — hand-reviewed entries with unique molecule-specific content — are submitted to search engines. Derived variants remain accessible to users through search and links but are excluded from the index to keep the public corpus high-value.
Review and correction
Anchors are re-reviewed on a rolling basis. Readers can report any figure that looks wrong through the contact page; verified errors are corrected promptly and visibly.
What the labels mean
Cross-checked against documented reference ranges for the exact molecule, strength and pack shown. This is our strongest label.
Computed from a named market-checked anchor of the same molecule using the scaling formula. Reliable for planning; confirm before purchase.
Therapy-class baseline where no anchor exists yet. Shown rarely, labelled clearly, and we offer a manual price-check instead of pretending confidence.
Known limitations
- Prices are reference points for decision-making, not live quotations; availability and final price always rest with the actual supplier.
- Indian figures reflect typical retail market pricing and intentionally exclude printed MRP where MRP does not reflect what patients pay street-side.
- Currency conversion uses recent observed rates and is not tick-by-tick.
- Insurance, copay structure, tax and customs change what an individual actually pays; our figures are out-of-pocket reference ranges.
- During active conflict, shortages or currency shocks, local prices can move faster than our re-review cycle — treat stale-seeming figures as flags to verify.