French pharma welcomes pricing agreement but sounds alarm over tax

France’s pharmaceutical industry has welcomed government concessions on medicine pricing but warned that proposed taxes for 2027 risk undermining efforts to attract investment.

The warning came on 2 October from Leem, the French pharmaceutical industry association representing nearly 200 companies, following proposals for France’s 2027 Social Security Financing Act (Projet de loi de financement de la Sécurité sociale - PLFSS).

On 28 September, after a year of negotiations, the industry and France’s Economic Committee for Health Products (CEPS) signed a revised framework agreement intended to provide greater pricing predictability and strengthen the country’s pharmaceutical competitiveness.

At the signing, French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist declared: “In an increasingly uncertain world, having a solid, attractive and predictable framework for our medicines policy is a necessity.”

The agreement, which runs until September 2030, seeks to balance access to innovative treatments, healthcare affordability and domestic pharmaceutical production.

The stakes are rising as US President Donald Trump pursues his “most-favored-nation” medicine pricing policy. Trump has claimed that Americans pay disproportionately high prices compared with patients in other high-income countries. Washington is pressing for higher prices abroad as part of its efforts to reduce US costs, complicating European governments' efforts to contain their own rising pharmaceutical spending.

Leem welcomed several provisions in the French budget proposals, including reductions in price cuts, measures intended to prevent a pharmaceutical safeguard clause from being triggered in 2026 and regular reassessments of reimbursed medicines. It also backed measures to address the economic challenges facing antibiotics.

However, the industry group warned that a proposed additional pharmaceutical contribution in 2027 could exceed the government’s announced €1.7 billion target. It is asking for greater transparency over the calculations and renewed its call to abolish the safeguard clause.

“Having just signed a framework agreement aimed at strengthening France’s attractiveness and improving access to medicines, we call on the Government to honour its commitments through the 2027 Social Security Financing Act,” said Leem President Jean-François Brochard.