Impact of U.S. drug pricing on international medicine access

Pharmaceutical companies are delaying or cancelling the launch of new medications in international markets, specifically Switzerland and Canada, citing concerns over United States drug-pricing policies.

In Switzerland, industry group Interpharma reported that approximately one-third of new innovative medicines were not submitted for mandatory health insurance coverage between January 2025 and June 2026. This hesitation is attributed to the United States’ ‘most-favoured-nation’ policy, which uses international prices as benchmarks to lower U.S. costs. Drugmakers fear that launching therapies at lower prices in Switzerland could jeopardize their pricing structures in the U.S. market.

Similarly, in Canada, nearly 50 life-saving or life-extending drugs have been delayed or cancelled for launch over the past year. Industry experts and medical professionals suggest the U.S. Most Favoured Nation (MFN) policy is driving this trend. Dr. Bettina Hamelin, CEO of Innovative Medicines Canada, argued that the policy creates upward pressure on prices, while medical professionals have warned that cutting-edge medications for rare diseases may become unavailable to Canadians due to these economic shifts.