US drug pricing policy could delay medicine access in Europe

drug pricing most-favoured-nation pharmaceutical industry medicine access The Lancet study

A study published in The Lancet suggests that US drug pricing policies, specifically the most-favoured-nation (MFN) approach, could delay access to new medicines for patients in Europe.

The policy, advocated by former US President Donald Trump, aims to align US drug prices with the lowest prices found in other developed nations like France or Germany. However, researchers analyzed 195 patented medicines—representing $87.9 billion in annual US spending—and found that for 75% of them, the revenue lost by lowering US prices would exceed the total annual sales in the reference countries.

To avoid these losses, pharmaceutical companies may be incentivized to delay launching new products in lower-priced reference markets to prevent those prices from being used to set US rates. The European Patients Forum warned that such delays could significantly impact the health and quality of life for patients with serious or progressive conditions. Data indicates that drug launches in EU markets fell by approximately 35% in the 10 months following the US executive order.

Entities

Donald Trump · ETH Zurich · European Patients Forum · Kerstin Vokinger · The Lancet

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 4 SOURCES] US drug pricing policies can impact global access to medicines. fr.euronews.com · pt.euronews.com · tr.euronews.com · www.euronews.com
[● 4 SOURCES] Companies may delay market launches in low-priced reference countries to avoid matching those prices in the US. fr.euronews.com · pt.euronews.com · tr.euronews.com · www.euronews.com
[● 4 SOURCES] A modeling study was published in The Lancet regarding drug pricing policies. fr.euronews.com · pt.euronews.com · tr.euronews.com · www.euronews.com
[● 4 SOURCES] The study analyzed 195 patented medicines representing $87.9 billion in annual US spending. fr.euronews.com · pt.euronews.com · tr.euronews.com · www.euronews.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] Delayed drug launches in Europe could negatively impact the health and quality of life of patients with serious conditions. www.euronews.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] Drug launches in EU markets fell by approximately 35% in the 10 months following the US executive order. www.euronews.com
[● 4 SOURCES] For 75% of the medicines studied, potential losses from lowering US prices would exceed total annual sales in reference countries. fr.euronews.com · pt.euronews.com · tr.euronews.com · www.euronews.com