Drugmakers curb Swiss reimbursement applications over US most-favoured-nation pricing policy
核心洞察
Between January 2025 and June 2026, drugmakers withheld seven of 22 new innovative medicines from Switzerland's reimbursement list due to US most-favoured-nation pricing concerns.
Three additional medicines were not submitted for Swiss market approval at all, which Interpharma (搜索) attributes to the same US policy.
Swiss patients now lack access to roughly one-third of newly developed innovative medicines through compulsory health insurance, raising the prospect of a two-tiered healthcare system.
Drugmakers are holding back applications for health insurance coverage in Switzerland over concerns that lower prices there could affect their U.S. business under drug-pricing policies introduced by the Trump administration, according to a survey by Swiss pharmaceutical industry group Interpharma (搜索).
About one-third of new innovative medicines were not submitted for coverage under Switzerland's mandatory health insurance system between January 2025 and June 2026, potentially limiting patient access to new treatments. Switzerland is one of the countries used as a benchmark under the United States' so-called most-favoured-nation (MFN) drug-pricing policy, which aims to lower U.S. medicine costs by comparing prices with those in other markets. The policy has made some drugmakers more hesitant about launching new medicines in Europe for fear of undermining U.S. pricing.
Survey Findings on Reimbursement Submissions
The survey found that seven of 22 new innovative drugs introduced during the period were not submitted for inclusion on Switzerland's reimbursement list, which determines whether drugs are covered by mandatory health insurance and sets the reimbursed price. Another three were not submitted for Swiss market approval at all, which Interpharma (搜索) also attributed to the U.S. most-favoured-nation policy.
"The survey shows drug makers no longer consider themselves able to launch new therapies in Switzerland in a timely manner under the current framework conditions, so as not to jeopardize prices in the United States," Interpharma (搜索) said.
The 15 medicines submitted for reimbursement compared with an average of 24 submissions over the same 18-month period between 2019 and 2025, Interpharma (搜索) reported.
Impact on Patient Access
As a result, Swiss patients do not have access to about one-third of newly developed innovative medicines through mandatory health insurance, with the U.S. policy exacerbating an existing trend, the group said. Interpharma (搜索) warned that this raises the prospect of a two-tiered healthcare system.
While companies such as Roche and Novartis may still launch medicines in Switzerland, inclusion on the reimbursement list is important for broad patient access and establishes a price that could influence U.S. comparisons.
Broader Trend and Policy Implications
The US administration's MFN regime is accentuating an already negative trend in access to innovative medicines in Switzerland. A study based on data from the years 2021–2024 showed that, compared to Germany, only about half of new therapies are currently available to patients in Switzerland via the Federal Office of Public Health's (FOPH) Specialties List.
Interpharma (搜索) cautioned that the proposed revision of the Health Insurance Ordinance (KVV/HIO) and the Health Insurance Benefits Ordinance (HIBO) threatens to further restrict access. The group stated that the one-sided cost focus of the proposed legislation does not take into account the tangible consequences of the MFN regime and endangers patient access, calling for the proposal to be comprehensively revised.
"In order to sustainably improve access to innovative therapies for patients, Switzerland needs an MFN-compatible pricing system that takes into account the aspects of care, quality and cost of innovation in equal measure," Interpharma (搜索) said.