US pricing policy slows Swiss drug launches, industry survey finds
Drugmakers are skipping Swiss reimbursement applications for new medicines, fearing lower Swiss prices could drag down US revenue under Washington's benchmark pricing policy.
Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly bypassing Switzerland's reimbursement system for new drugs, a move linked directly to pricing policies in the United States, according to a new industry survey.
The study, conducted by the Swiss pharmaceutical industry group Interpharma, found that between January 2025 and June 2026, roughly one-third of newly developed innovative medicines were not submitted for coverage under Switzerland's mandatory health insurance scheme.
At the heart of the issue is Washington's so-called most-favoured-nation drug-pricing policy, which aims to lower US medicine costs by benchmarking prices against those in other developed markets. Switzerland is one of the countries used for that comparison.
Fearing that a lower Swiss price could drag down the price they can command in the lucrative US market, drugmakers have become reluctant to launch new therapies in Europe, the survey suggests.
"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 said.
Specifically, 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. A further three were not submitted for Swiss market approval at all.
While companies such as Roche and Novartis may still launch medicines in Switzerland, inclusion on the reimbursement list is crucial for broad patient access and establishes a price that could influence US comparisons.
The 15 medicines submitted for reimbursement compare with an average of 24 submissions over the same 18-month period between 2019 and 2025, Interpharma said.
As a result, Swiss patients do not have access to about one-third of newly developed innovative medicines through mandatory health insurance, with the US policy exacerbating an existing trend, the group said.