Drug prices in Germany and across Europe are set to rise noticeably. The trigger is the pricing policy pursued by the United States, which aims to enforce lower drug prices in the American market. As reported by Handelsblatt, this approach is increasingly shifting price pressure onto Europe. The objective is to raise very low European reference prices in order to offset price reductions in the United States.
Dr. Roman Hipp, Senior Partner at Porsche Consulting, predicts in Handelsblatt: “As early as the coming months, prices in Europe are likely to rise by around ten percent.” How quickly price adjustments take place depends largely on national pricing systems. Negotiation-based markets such as Germany or France can respond more quickly than tender-driven systems. From a US perspective, Europe has long benefited from pharmaceutical innovation financed by the United States, while paying significantly lower prices, by 50 to 70 percent.
Read the full article in Handelsblatt (paywall, German only).