For European drugmakers there are still many unknowns about how the MFN scheme — and overall tariffs on pharmaceuticals — will play out.
“It’s too early to understand what is in scope, or the wider implication on Europe or member states,” branded drugs lobby EFPIA told POLITICO, noting that the investigation is still ongoing. Yet it warned: “Implementing MFN pricing could have an impact on jobs and our capacity to discover, develop and deliver new medicines for patients.”
EFPIA is lobbying Europe to make its own market more attractive to industry investment, saying it wants to see Europe “rethinking how we value innovation, significantly increasing what the region spends on innovative medicines and creating an operating environment which supports investment into research and early access to new medicines for patients.”
In the meantime, Swiss pharma company Roche said, “A broad range of actions across European countries can contribute to retaining, sustaining, and developing the life sciences ecosystem,” pointing to reducing clawbacks and other cost-containment measures as one example.
For EU governments, the response may depend on how such pricing is implemented. If it’s tied to list prices, leaving net prices largely intact, stepping up procurement exercises might be enough. But if the worst case plays out — with net prices rising — governments could resort to budget caps and tighter access rules.
In the meantime, the European Commission “is closely monitoring the implementation of the U.S. Most Favoured Nation policy and any potential indirect effects on the European market,” a Commission spokesperson wrote in response to a request for comment.
The EU’s executive is “in regular contact with the industry” and “is committed to maintaining the EU as an attractive location for research and development, including in rare diseases and other high-need areas,” the spokesperson added.