Access Matters: The future for pharma
Payers across Europe are increasingly looking to companies to negotiate managed entry agreements, particularly for high-priced drugs at the cutting edge of medicine. These deals may take many forms but can be broadly divided into financial agreements (discounts, rebates, free stock) or outcomes-based agreements (payment conditional on meeting clinical targets). Manufacturers generally insist on strict confidentiality on the terms of these deals as a key condition of reaching agreement.
At the same time, critics of the pharmaceutical industry have called for disclosure of the terms of rebates and discounts. They would also like more information on the cost of developing and manufacturing new drugs, with a view to limiting the profits that companies make or introducing some form of cost-plus pricing. At the World Health Assembly in 2019, a transparency resolution was adopted by all countries except Germany, the UK and Hungary. Ending confidential deals might lead to lower net prices, but pharmaceutical companies might be less willing to negotiate agreements in some markets, potentially making access considerably worse for patients.
Co Authored by Neil Grubert