POLICY STATEMENT
Most Favoured Nation Drug Pricing
Ensuring Patient Access to Innovation in Europe
Most Favoured Nation drug pricing in the United States is already reshaping how and when new cancer treatments reach patients. Cancer Patients Europe is calling on European institutions, patient organisations, industry and health economists to add their voice to this policy statement, and help ensure that evolving global pricing policies do not delay or restrict access to innovative medicines across Europe.
Timely access to innovative medicines is essential for cancer patients. Recent developments in global pharmaceutical pricing, including the introduction of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) drug pricing policies in the United States, have raised questions about their potential implications for patient access to innovative medicines in Europe.
What is Most Favoured Nation (MFN) pricing?
Most Favoured Nation (MFN) pricing is the most recent US policy intended to lower medicine prices. It intends to achieve this by linking US prices to those available in other comparable developed countries. This is a continued trend in US policy (eg the Inflation Reduction Act) in response to increasing gaps in medicines pricing. MFN pricing policies could influence the availability and timing of access to innovative medicines across EU Member States if companies alter pricing or launc h strategies in response to changing global market dynamics. While the long-term impact remains uncertain, the European Union and its Member States should take a proactive, coordinated approach to safeguarding timely and equitable patient access to innovation, acting at EU level where cooperation can add value while preserving Member State responsibilities for pricing and reimbursement.
This policy statement was developed as an outcome of the Cancer Patients Europe’s policy webinar “Most Favoured Nation Drug Pricing: What Could It Mean for Patient Access in Europe?” on 8 May 2026, which brought together policymakers, patient representatives, clinicians, health economists and industry representatives to discuss the potential implications of evolving global pricing policies for cancer patients in Europe.
It sets out Cancer Patients Europe/relevant stakeholders’ key concerns and recommendations following the policy webinar, with the aim of ensuring that evolving global pricing policies do not undermine patient access to innovative medicines across Europe.
Key Concerns
The following key concerns emerged from the discussion on the potential implications of evolving global pricing policies for cancer patients in Europe:
Global pricing developments should not delay or compromise patient access to innovative cancer treatments. Delays in the availability of new therapies can directly affect treatment options, quality of life and health outcomes.
Changes in pharmaceutical pricing and launch strategies risk widening inequalities in access across EU Member States, particularly for patients living in smaller or lower-GDP countries.
The EU and its Member States must continue to support innovation while ensuring that medicines delivering meaningful clinical benefit reach patients quickly and equitably through sustainable pricing and reimbursement systems.
Patient organisations are essential partners in identifying barriers to access, highlighting inequalities experienced by patients, and ensuring that policy decisions remain centred on patient needs.
Call to Action
CPE calls on European institutions, Member States, healthcare stakeholders, patient organisations and industry to work together to ensure that global pricing developments do not undermine timely and equitable patient access to innovative medicines in Europe. In particular, we call for:
A coordinated EU-level approach to monitor and assess how global pricing developments affect medicine availability, launch sequencing and access disparities across Member States, with particular attention to smaller and lower-GDP countries, and to support information-sharing and coordination while respecting Member State competence for medicines pricing and reimbursement.
The meaningful involvement of patient organisations in pharmaceutical policy discussions, recognising their essential role in identifying barriers to access, monitoring inequalities, and ensuring that patient needs remain at the centre of decision-making.
Policy and reimbursement frameworks that recognise meaningful clinical innovation and support faster patient access, including proportionate evidence requirements and managed-entry approaches that can address uncertainty while supporting timely access and long-term sustainability.
Member States to review intra-European reference pricing and other cross-country price-linkage mechanisms and address unintended incentives where these may contribute to delayed launches or restricted access in lower-GDP countries.
Practical European cooperation in areas where joint action can improve access and system resilience, including health technology assessment, procurement where appropriate, supply security and data sharing, while leaving national pricing and reimbursement decisions with Member States.
As global pharmaceutical markets continue to evolve, the EU and its Member States must ensure that patient access remains at the centre of policy decisions while strengthening Europe’s capacity to deliver innovation, competitiveness, resilience, and equitable access to care for all patients.
Support this statement
Add your organisation’s endorsement using this form: