Spain’s warning on drug pricing deals

Spain's Health Secretary Javier Padilla Bernáldez has urged European countries to unite against U.S. drug pricing pressures, rather than negotiating bilateral agreements, during a speech at the European Health Forum in Gastein, Austria. Padilla Bernáldez believes that pursuing individual deals could weaken the European market, as it would weaken the EU's strength in universal health coverage.

The pressure stems from the Trump administration's most-favored-nation drug pricing policy, which could delay the launch of new medicines in Europe, leading to lower profits for companies in the lucrative U.S. market. Europe first discussed how to protect its prices and solidarity-based health systems back in June, with 11 countries led by Sweden and the Benelux group also advocating for a united response.

However, some EU countries may be wavering, as Germany is in talks with U.S. officials over drug prices and France recently announced a new deal with the pharmaceutical sector. Padilla Bernáldez warned that countries are putting Europe's main strength at risk by believing they will receive a positive response from the U.S. government, which he doubts will happen.