Pricing, reimbursement and access
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Pharmaceutical
Merck & Co—the US pharma giant known as MSD outside North America—has welcomed a recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) supporting the use of Winrevair (sotatercept) for certain adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in England and Wales. 15 May 2026
Biotechnology
Europe is not short of science. It is short of the machinery that turns science into large, durable biotech companies. The continent still has deep academic research, specialist hospitals, public funding, strong disease networks and a patchwork of regional clusters with real depth. From the Nordics to Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy, Europe can still generate ideas, companies and clinical expertise. 15 May 2026
Biotechnology
AstraZeneca today announced a positive recommendation from the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for Imfinzi (durvalumab) in combination with perioperative FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) chemotherapy to treat adults with resectable gastric or gastro-esophageal junction (GOJ) adenocarcinoma. 14 May 2026
Pharmaceutical
The first MASH approval has given doctors, payers and diagnostics companies a clearer pathway in a disease area that had long attracted drug developers but repeatedly failed to produce approved medicines. 14 May 2026
Pharmaceutical
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board is once again raising concerns about the USA’s federal 340B drug pricing program – this time questioning whether the program is benefiting patients at all. 12 May 2026
Biotechnology
San Diego-based Capricor Therapeutics, a biotech developing cell and exosome-based therapeutics for rare diseases, has filed a lawsuit Japanese pharma against Nippon Shinyaku and its US subsidiary, NS Pharma. 11 May 2026
Biotechnology
The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended approval for US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson’s Rybrevant (amivantamab). 8 May 2026
Biosimilars
Industry group Medicines for Europe has urged policymakers to strengthen support for biosimilar medicines, arguing that wider uptake could improve patient access to biologic therapies while reinforcing Europe’s pharmaceutical resilience. 7 May 2026
Pharmaceutical
The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will provide eligible Medicare beneficiaries access to certain GLP-1 medications for $50 per month beginning July 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027. 7 May 2026
Biotechnology
US biotech Vertex Pharmaceuticals today announced that a reimbursement agreement was signed with the GKV-Spitzenverband for its CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited therapy, Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel). 6 May 2026
Pharmaceutical
US health technology assessment group Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has published a revised Evidence Report on oveporexton (TAK-861), a Takeda therapy for narcolepsy type 1, highlighting clinical benefits while pointing to lingering uncertainty over long-term outcomes. 30 April 2026
Biotechnology
The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued Final Draft Guidance recommending UCB’s Rystiggo (rozanolixizumab), the first targeted therapy for generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), a rare and debilitating condition that impacts the daily lives of people living with the condition. 29 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
The American Hospital Association (AHA) again is asking the Health Resources and Services Administration to take action after US pharma major Eli Lilly warned hospitals that they could lose access to discounted drug prices unless they comply with new data submission requirements. 28 April 2026
Biotechnology
Over the decades, Germany’s Bayer has played as big a part as any company in the discovery and development of innovative medicines to treat patients around the world. 24 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
The US government is set to bear the financial burden of covering blockbuster obesity medicines for Medicare beneficiaries, after private insurers balked at participating in a planned long-term payment model. 22 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
Today, AstraZeneca announced that Lokelma (sodium zirconium cyclosilicate; SZC) has received a draft recommendation by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), broadening access for the treatment of hyperkalemia. 13 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
The number of drug launches in Europe has fallen by around 35% in the 10 months since the USA introduced a new drug pricing policy, according to an analysis by the international research agency GlobalData. The figures are serious for European patients, says the Danish pharma trade group Lif. 13 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
US pharma major AbbVie has filed a lawsuit seeking to narrow the definition of a “340B patient,” opening a new legal front in a long-running dispute over the US drug discount program. 9 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
Stephen Ubl will step down as president and chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) at the end of 2026, ending a decade leading one of Washington’s most influential drug industry groups. 9 April 2026
Biotechnology
Rare disease drug pricing has long rested on a simple trade-off. Small patient populations and high development costs justified higher prices, and payers largely accepted that logic because the overall budget impact remained limited. That balance is becoming harder to maintain as orphan drugs now account for a growing share of new launches and an increasing portion of drug spending. 8 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
Merck & Co—the US pharma giant known as MSD outside North America—has welcomed a recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) supporting the use of Winrevair (sotatercept) for certain adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in England and Wales. 15 May 2026
Biotechnology
Europe is not short of science. It is short of the machinery that turns science into large, durable biotech companies. The continent still has deep academic research, specialist hospitals, public funding, strong disease networks and a patchwork of regional clusters with real depth. From the Nordics to Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy, Europe can still generate ideas, companies and clinical expertise. 15 May 2026
Biotechnology
AstraZeneca today announced a positive recommendation from the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for Imfinzi (durvalumab) in combination with perioperative FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) chemotherapy to treat adults with resectable gastric or gastro-esophageal junction (GOJ) adenocarcinoma. 14 May 2026
Pharmaceutical
The first MASH approval has given doctors, payers and diagnostics companies a clearer pathway in a disease area that had long attracted drug developers but repeatedly failed to produce approved medicines. 14 May 2026
Pharmaceutical
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board is once again raising concerns about the USA’s federal 340B drug pricing program – this time questioning whether the program is benefiting patients at all. 12 May 2026
Biotechnology
San Diego-based Capricor Therapeutics, a biotech developing cell and exosome-based therapeutics for rare diseases, has filed a lawsuit Japanese pharma against Nippon Shinyaku and its US subsidiary, NS Pharma. 11 May 2026
Biotechnology
The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended approval for US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson’s Rybrevant (amivantamab). 8 May 2026
Biosimilars
Industry group Medicines for Europe has urged policymakers to strengthen support for biosimilar medicines, arguing that wider uptake could improve patient access to biologic therapies while reinforcing Europe’s pharmaceutical resilience. 7 May 2026
Pharmaceutical
The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will provide eligible Medicare beneficiaries access to certain GLP-1 medications for $50 per month beginning July 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027. 7 May 2026
Biotechnology
US biotech Vertex Pharmaceuticals today announced that a reimbursement agreement was signed with the GKV-Spitzenverband for its CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited therapy, Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel). 6 May 2026
Pharmaceutical
US health technology assessment group Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has published a revised Evidence Report on oveporexton (TAK-861), a Takeda therapy for narcolepsy type 1, highlighting clinical benefits while pointing to lingering uncertainty over long-term outcomes. 30 April 2026
Biotechnology
The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued Final Draft Guidance recommending UCB’s Rystiggo (rozanolixizumab), the first targeted therapy for generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), a rare and debilitating condition that impacts the daily lives of people living with the condition. 29 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
The American Hospital Association (AHA) again is asking the Health Resources and Services Administration to take action after US pharma major Eli Lilly warned hospitals that they could lose access to discounted drug prices unless they comply with new data submission requirements. 28 April 2026
Biotechnology
Over the decades, Germany’s Bayer has played as big a part as any company in the discovery and development of innovative medicines to treat patients around the world. 24 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
The US government is set to bear the financial burden of covering blockbuster obesity medicines for Medicare beneficiaries, after private insurers balked at participating in a planned long-term payment model. 22 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
Today, AstraZeneca announced that Lokelma (sodium zirconium cyclosilicate; SZC) has received a draft recommendation by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), broadening access for the treatment of hyperkalemia. 13 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
The number of drug launches in Europe has fallen by around 35% in the 10 months since the USA introduced a new drug pricing policy, according to an analysis by the international research agency GlobalData. The figures are serious for European patients, says the Danish pharma trade group Lif. 13 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
US pharma major AbbVie has filed a lawsuit seeking to narrow the definition of a “340B patient,” opening a new legal front in a long-running dispute over the US drug discount program. 9 April 2026
Pharmaceutical
Stephen Ubl will step down as president and chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) at the end of 2026, ending a decade leading one of Washington’s most influential drug industry groups. 9 April 2026
Biotechnology
Rare disease drug pricing has long rested on a simple trade-off. Small patient populations and high development costs justified higher prices, and payers largely accepted that logic because the overall budget impact remained limited. That balance is becoming harder to maintain as orphan drugs now account for a growing share of new launches and an increasing portion of drug spending. 8 April 2026
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