Drug price transparency in Spain: Are pharma innovations in the Spanish market at risk?

In Spain, balancing the right to access information from public administration with the necessary confidentiality of drug prices is a major challenge for the pharma industry and the National Health System . This article examines the consequences of increased price transparency on manufacturers and patients in Spain, considering the existing international reference pricing (IRP) connections.

Spanish civil associations have recently started requesting information from the Ministry of Health (MoH) about the funding conditions and hidden net ex-manufacturer prices of high cost innovative therapies from various companies (e.g., Crysvita (Kyowa Kirin), Veklury and Yescarta (Gilead), Mepsevii (Ultragenyx), Takhzyro (Takeda), Luxturna and Zolgensma (Novartis), Spinraza (Biogen), among others). 

Both the MoH and the manufacturers refused to disclose this confidential information based on Article 14 of Law 19/2013, of December 9, of the Spanish Law on…