EFPIA report adds to pressures on EU drug pricing policy
European pharmaceutical trade body EFPIA has said that patient access to new medicines is worsening across the continent, as it makes the socioeconomic case for spending more on innovative drugs.
In 2025, almost half (49%) of new medicines are not available to patients in Europe, up from 46% in 2019, while the share of medicines fully available on public reimbursement lists has declined substantially to 28% from 42%.
EFPIA has accused European governments of "short-term cost containment strategies designed to lower medicines spending…rather than an investment strategy which benefits patients, health systems and Europe's economy."
According to the study commissioned by the trade body, every euro spent on new medicines generates €5.67 in socioeconomic benefits, including reduced hospital costs and higher workforce productivity. Its analysis claims that between 2014 and 2024, Europe's investment of €11.67 billion in new medicines delivered €66 billion in benefits, including €9 billion in direct hospital savings.
Europeans also wait 500 days, on average, to access a newly authorised medicine, according to EFPIA, with an 88% disparity in access between countries.
The report comes on the heels of the US Trade Representative's launch of an investigation into the medicine pricing policies in Germany, and as a lengthening list of pharma groups assert that unless they get higher negotiated drug prices, they will delay or abandon launches of new drugs in Europe and shelve capital investments.
That is a consequence of Trump's Most Favoured Nation (MFN) policy, which attempts to peg the price of medicines in the US to the lowest prices charged in equivalent overseas markets, backed by the threat of tariffs. That has forced drugmakers to rethink their European pricing strategies and also direct investment projects to the US.
The UK has already opted to raise the amount it spends on medicines by adjusting its cost-effectiveness calculations for new medicines, and the pharma industry – backed by the US federal government – is now ramping up pressure on EU member states to follow suit.
"This data adds to the growing evidence base that spending in healthcare creates significantly more value than it costs society," said Nathalie Moll, director general of EFPIA.
"Deprioritising health and medicines budgets is a political choice that is not only a strategic mistake but an economically self-defeating decision which sacrifices long-term prosperity for short-term gains," she added. "Many nations now recognise the importance of a healthy society as key to a high-performing economy; Europe should follow suit."
