Session (CTI)

ISSUE: Pharmaceutical pricing on both sides of the Atlantic is being reformed simultaneously — but in ways that may pull against each other. In the US, the IRA's Medicare negotiation programme is forcing prices toward international levels, while MFN and tariff-linked arrangements press other wealthy countries to pay more. In Europe, the EU Pharma Package resets data-protection baselines, broadens the Bolar exemption, and allows Member States to strip protection where products are not launched locally. Industry warns that reforms weaken innovation incentives. Payers and patient advocates argue the old settlement failed on access and affordability. The panel asks whether the two reforms are on a collision course, a convergence path, or are unexpectedly complementary. OVERVIEW: This panel brings together European Commission, US policy, and health economics perspectives to examine two landmark reforms and what their interaction means for pricing, innovation, and access globally. Indranil Bagchi (8 mins) will open by framing the dual reform landscape from a global industry perspective, setting out the key tensions and questions for the panel. Ferenc Marojka (10 mins) will present the EU Pharma Package and Biotech Act — their incentive redesign, protection changes, and intended effects on launch behaviour and affordability across Member States. Sean Sullivan (10 mins) will describe the US reform agenda, covering the IRA negotiation programme, MFN, and tariff arrangements, and what each is designed to achieve. Amanda Cole (10 mins) will examine the combined economics of both agendas, exploring whether the simultaneous pressure to lower US prices and raise international ones creates a sustainable equilibrium — or a damaging squeeze on the revenues that fund future innovation. At least 20 minutes will be reserved for audience discussion, with a focus on whether transatlantic coordination is feasible and what a more coherent global pricing settlement might look like.