Inside EU Health: AZ warns Germany; fair pricing savings €27 B; safe heart screening
AstraZeneca warns German reforms could push pharma launches and investment out of Europe; fair pricing model highlights €27 billion of potential savings in Europe; Commission launches consultation on screening for cardiovascular diseases
AstraZeneca warns German reforms could push pharma launches and investment out of Europe
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot has warned that Germany’s planned healthcare cost reforms could force the company to delay or skip launching some medicines in the country. In an interview with Handelsblatt, he said: “It’s going to be very hard for us, we’re going to be attacked, but in the end, we will have no choice, also because of the pressure in the US.”
Berlin is moving ahead with measures to curb rising healthcare spending, including higher mandatory discounts from the pharmaceutical industry. Germany has long been the EU’s preferred launch market due to its size, purchasing power and a 12-month free pricing period for new drugs.
Soriot called the proposals “a dangerous backward step”, warning Europe risks becoming a “sales office” while innovation shifts elsewhere. He added that “the US will not be happy with the decision”, pointing to growing transatlantic pricing tensions.
The comments underline concerns that stricter pricing could deter investment and delay patient access to new treatments across Europe.
Catherine Feore
But other views are available…
Fair pricing model highlights €27 billion of potential savings in Europe
A new study claims that European countries could save up to €27 billion annually on new medicines if prices better reflected real development costs and therapeutic value.
The International Association of Mutuals (AIM) has created what they describe as a ‘fair pricing calculator’; a tool to assess a medicine’s price - one that is affordable for health systems and patients while still providing sufficient incentives for pharmaceutical companies to invest in innovation and production.
The model considers research and development costs, production costs, sales and medical information costs, a reasonable profit, and - in certain instances - an innovation bonus linked to added therapeutic value.
Using AIM’s Fair Pricing Model, researchers analysed ten protected medicines across six countries: Belgium, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
Applying the model, spending could have been reduced by an average of 73%, with some medicines priced up to 97% above fair levels. Cancer treatments showed particularly large discrepancies, with potential price reductions of up to 87%.
AIM argues that stronger negotiation and transparent, cost-based pricing are essential to ensure affordability, sustainability, and continued access to innovative treatments across Europe.
Commission launches consultation on screening for cardiovascular diseases
The European Commission has launched an open consultation to gather input on early detection and screening of cardiovascular diseases, a step toward a future Council Recommendation on personalised treatment and monitoring, as promise in the ‘Safe Hearts Plan’.
The Call for Evidence invites contributions from citizens, patient groups, healthcare professionals, researchers, and other stakeholders and is open until 19 May 2026.
Health checks are central to the initiative, as they can identify health problems before symptoms emerge, enabling earlier intervention. Yet significant gaps persist; fewer than half of EU countries have dedicated screening programmes.
The initiative supports the Safe Hearts Plan goal to reduce premature cardiovascular mortality by 25% by 2035. It will also explore standardised risk prediction tools and inclusive health checks tailored to vulnerable groups.
Catherine Feore