Insights into the Future of Healthcare

How Are JCA and the EU Pharma Package Changing the Economics of Drug Development? A Perspective from Graham Cookson

What do Europe’s changing pharmaceutical policies mean for the economics of drug development? In this episode of Perspectives, Mel Whittington speaks with Graham Cookson, CEO of the Office of Health Economics, to discuss three major developments impacting the European life sciences landscape: joint clinical assessment (JCA), the EU Pharma Package, and most-favored-nation (MFN) pricing. Graham explains how JCA impacts the way comparative clinical evidence is generated and assessed across Europe and the importance of planning for it before pivotal trials are designed. He also gets into how the EU Pharma Package may shift incentives. The conversation then turns to MFN pricing and the tension between fast, broad access and increasing global price exposure. Topics discussed include: How JCA may affect clinical development and evidence requirements, The EU Pharma Package’s proposed changes to data and market protection, Implications for orphan drugs, breakthrough products, and areas of unmet need, The interaction between JCA, the EU Pharma Package, and MFN pricing, and Why companies may “delay, run, or hide”