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Spain’s National Health System (SNS) is funding nearly 80% of innovative medicines that apply for inclusion in public pharmaceutical provision, while cutting decision times by more than half in recent years, according to the Ministry of HealthFunding and access to medicines authorized under the European Union's centralized procedure were analysed from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2024, excluding vaccines, generic drugs, and biosimilars. During these four years, 230 innovative medicines were authorized in the EU“If we consider only the 189 drugs that did complete national registration and applied for inclusion in the public pharmaceutical benefit, the financing rate reaches 78.8%,” the Ministry explains. “This result highlights a high proportion of positive resolutions once the administrative procedure is activated and demonstrates the system's capacity to incorporate therapeutic innovation when it formally enters the evaluation circuit”
In a recent announcement, the EU Health Technology Assessment Coordination Group published its first annual report, confirming that 13 Joint Clinical Assessments (JCAs) were underway in 2025, including ten oncology products and three ATMPs, with six orphan-designated therapies and none yet at the endorsement stageStakeholder engagement remains central, with at least one patient or carer and one clinical expert involved in each assessment, bringing total participation to 38 contributors supporting scope setting and draft report reviewsMethodological coordination has been strengthened, as the methodological and procedural guidance (MPG) Subgroup established three Supporting Groups and a regulatory guidance working group with the EMA, holding nine meetings in 2025 to support assessors and align processes across JCAs
Last week, focus revolved mainly around the White House rolling out its discount drug platform, TrumpRx, featuring 40 prescription drugs made available by the first five manufacturers to reach MFN deals with the administration NAVIN Daily learned that legally grounded text still "does not exist" for the UK/U.S. pharmaceutical trade agreement, as verified with the DHSC, "as recently as Thursday of last week.” The claim stokes ongoing concerns that the arrangement is based on limited headline commitments rather than a signed legal text In Europe, the Vice Chair of the JCA subgroup confirmed that the first JCA report is expected in May 2026, while sonrotoclax was added to the ongoing JCA list
Last week, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly offered opposing views in their Q4 earnings calls on their ability to weather price cuts under Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing. The Trump’s administration’s top health agency officials also met with Republican members of Congress this week to discuss legislation intended to codify MFN drug pricing Jordan’s Ministry of Health released its first national HTA and Economic Evaluation Guideline, becoming the latest country in the Middle East to formalize the use of HTA. Read more about the increasing prevalence of HTA in the region in our latest monthly newsletter The Director of Spain’s Health Technology Assessment Agency (AETS), has outlined the agency's role in the new EU-funded CAPRICORD joint action, which is intended to move the NCAPR beyond informal exchange towards more structured collaboration with tangible outputs
The White House rolled out its discount drug platform, TrumpRx, featuring 40 prescription drugs made available by the first five manufacturers to reach Most Favored Nation (MFN) deals with the administration. According to the administration, additional drugs from the remaining 11 companies that have signed deals will arrive “in the coming months"TrumpRx does not sell or dispense the discounted medicines. Instead, patients who visit TrumpRx can browse the list of available medicines, which display the discounted amount next to the typical list price of the medicine. However, to purchase the product, they are redirected to drugmakers’ direct-to-patient (DTP) websitesAs expected, the discounts are only available to cash-paying patients and operate outside of insurance, which significantly limits the service’s impact
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly both discussed the impact of Most Favored Nation (MFN) drug pricing policy during their 2025 fourth quarter earnings calls this week; however, the two drugmakers offered opposing views on their ability to weather the price cutsWhile Novo forecasted a decline of 5-13% for sales and operating profit growth in 2026, Lilly is predicting strong sales growth driven by higher volumeNovo is facing additional headwinds beyond MFN that are contributing to the company's outlook, including the expiration of key semaglutide patents in certain international markets, as well as growing competitive pressure
Medicines Australia is urging the government to boost funding for innovative medicines in the 2026-27 budget. The group is seeking faster access to medicines via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), noting that patients face delays compared to other nationsThe group pointed out how Australia's valuation of innovative medicines falls below societal benchmarks and stressed that U.S. President Donald Trump’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) policy is weakening Australia’s status in drug launch sequencingIt asked the government to commit to last year's HTA reform roadmap priorities in its upcoming budget to speed up drug listings, especially for rare disease treatments and vaccines
While MFN continues to bubble away in the background, last week, the CMS released the list of 15 prescription drugs selected for the third cycle of the IRA Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. For the first time, the list includes drugs covered under both Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D Elsewhere in the world, Europe continued to face internal pressure as major French players like Pierre Fabre, Sanofi, and Servier announced plans to launch a breakaway industry association, while Britain faced the reality that it has become a “second-wave market” Time is running out – make sure you register to join us at EVERSANA’s Pharma Pricing & Contracting Innovation Conference (PCIC), which will take place March 9-10 in Tampa, Florida. Sign up here!
India's 2026–27 budget focuses on the healthcare sector, boosting funds for public schemes like PM-JAY, NHM, and PM-ABHIM to improve primary care, disease control, and infrastructure It provided customs duty exemptions on 17 cancer drugs and medicines for seven rare diseases, aiming to ease treatment costs. The government also intensifies its push for local biopharma production through the $1.2B Bio Pharma Shakti initiative, focusing on biologics, enhanced affordability, clinical research, and reduced importsThe overall allocation for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been increased to USD 12.83 billion, nearly 10% higher than the revised estimates for the previous financial year. A substantial share of this increase is directed toward the national health program and public healthcare delivery
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its list of the 15 prescription drugs that will be subject to the third cycle of the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Medicare Drug Price Negotiation ProgramFor the first time, the list includes drugs payable under Medicare Part B, as well as products covered under Medicare Part D. CMS also selected one drug for renegotiation: Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly’s Tradjenta (linagliptin). Tradjenta was originally selected for the second round of price negotiations According to CMS, between November 2024 and October 2025, the 15 selected medicines accounted for approximately $27 billion in total prescription drug spending under Medicare Part B and Part D
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