Can Europe protect access and innovation as global pricing policies collide? Sessions on the agenda at ISPOR Europe 2026
Drug pricing and access are becoming increasingly interconnected across borders. At ISPOR Europe 2026, sessions will examine how EU HTA reform, US MFN-style policies, launch sequencing and international reference pricing are reshaping market access strategies, and whether Europe can preserve timely patient access while sustaining incentives for innovation.
Pricing and access have always been shaped by national policies, but the boundaries between markets are becoming harder to maintain. As reforms progress simultaneously in Europe and the US, decisions made in one jurisdiction can increasingly influence pricing, launch sequencing, evidence generation and investment choices elsewhere.
These interactions have been a recurring theme in recent coverage from The Evidence Base. Tim Wright (Genesis Research Group) has followed the evolution of US drug pricing reform throughout the year, most recently examining the GLOBE Final Rule and taking stock of the Most-Favored Nation (MFN) agenda one year on. Jason Shafrin and Tiago Beck (FTI Consulting, Belgium) have also examined how global pricing reforms are reshaping the European pharmaceutical landscape and the growing tension between European access ambitions and international policy pressures. Alexander Natz and Matthias Heck of EUCOPE, meanwhile, examined why the implications for Europe need to be considered across pricing, patient access and evidence generation.
The interaction with EU HTA adds another layer. Sreeram V Ramagopalan and Michael L Ryan recently considered how MFN pricing and Joint Clinical Assessment could create compounding pressure on European drug launches, bringing together two policy developments that might otherwise be considered separately.
Against that backdrop, pricing and access feature prominently at ISPOR Europe 2026. The meeting, organized by ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research, takes place in Vienna, Austria, from November 8–11, with sessions examining what happens when European and US reforms begin to interact.
What happens when policy pressures converge?
The ISPOR Europe 2026 agenda brings several policy pressures together. In Europe, implementation of the HTA Regulation is changing comparative evidence requirements as wider pharmaceutical reforms seek to balance access, competitiveness and innovation. In the US, Medicare price negotiation, MFN-style policies and international reference pricing are creating new links between markets.
The sessions approach these pressures from different perspectives and highlight the trade-offs facing manufacturers, policymakers and patients. For manufacturers, the considerations include launch sequencing, evidence investment and the consequences of lower prices in individual countries. Policymakers must weigh affordability and equitable access against the risk of delayed launches or weaker incentives for R&D, while for patients the central concern is whether these reforms ultimately improve access to new medicines or create additional barriers and delays.
The discussion also extends beyond a simple US–EU comparison, considering differences across European markets, the position of Central and Eastern Europe, China’s growing influence, and how MFN-style policies could affect pricing, launch strategy and access across Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. These different perspectives bring one question to the forefront: can Europe protect access and innovation as global pricing policies collide?
Selected sessions
Date and time: Monday November 9, 2026, 10:30am – 11:30am
Moderator: Oliver Staples
Speakers: Aodan Tynan, Niklas Hedberg (TLV) and Duane Schulthess (VitalTransformation)
Date and time: Monday November 9, 2026, 10:30am – 11:30am
Moderator: Suzette Matthijsse (Lumanity)
Speakers: Rui Santos Ivo (European Medicines Agency), Anne Willemsen (Zorginstituut Nederland), Neil Grubert (Neil Grubert Consulting) and Maya Matthews (European Commission)
One JCA, Many Decisions: Building an Evidence Strategy for Portability Across Europe
Date and time: Monday November 9, 2026, 12:15pm – 1:15pm
Moderator: Martin Parkinson (Thermo Fisher Scientific)
Speakers: Carla Dias Barbosa (Thermo Fisher Scientific), Victoria Paly (Takeda Oncology) and Caoimhe Rice (Thermo Fisher Scientific)
Date and time: Monday November 9, 2026, 12:15pm – 1:15pm
Moderator: Manuel Antonio Espinoza
Speakers: Diego Guarin (ISPOR Latin America Consortium Chair), Mahendra K Rai (Trinity Lifesciences) and Nadia Rashed Al Mazrouei (University of Sharjah)
How Early Is Early Enough? Rethinking Evidence Planning for Today's Global Access Challenges
Date and time: Monday November 9, 2026, 12:45pm – 1:15pm
Speaker: Priti Jhingran (Genesis Research Group)
One Assessment, Many Decisions: The Future of Country-Level HTA After JCA
Date and time: Monday November 9, 2026, 3:15pm – 4:15pm
Moderator: Ruairi O'Donnell (Cencora)
Speakers: Anne Willemsen (Zorginstituut Nederland), Neil Grubert, Anna Shopova (Amgen) and Antonella M Cardone (Cancer Patients Europe)
Date and time: Monday November 9, 2026, 4:45pm – 5:45pm
Moderator: Lieven Annemans (Ghent University)
Speakers: Mark Parker, Krzysztof M Landa (Watch Health Care Foundation) and Tanja Novakovic
Date and time: Tuesday November 10, 2026, 10:30am – 11:30am
Moderator: Indranil Bagchi (GSK US)
Speakers: Ferenc Marofka (European Commission), Sean Sullivan (University of Washington) and Lotte Steuten (Office of Health Economics)
Delay or Prepare? Navigating EU HTA in the Era of MFN-Driven Launch Uncertainty
Date and time: Tuesday November 10, 2026, 1:45pm – 2:45pm
Moderator: Eric C Faulkner (Passage Health Associates)
Speakers: Joerg Ruof, Jon D Campbell (National Pharmaceutical Council) and Gregory Daniel (Eli Lilly)
New Forces Shaping Global Pricing
Date and time: Tuesday November 10, 2026, 1:45pm – 2:45pm
Moderator: Hussain A Al-Omar (King Saud University)
Featured research: Presentations examining MFN pricing, EU JCA, China’s 2026 pricing reforms and value-based approaches to balancing affordability, equitable access and innovation.
Date and time: Tuesday November 10, 2026, 4:45pm – 5:45pm
Moderator: Roman Casciano (Certara USA)
Speakers: Marcin Czech (Institute of Mother and Child), Michal Worotynski (Ewopharma) and Adam Parnaby
Preparing CEE Countries for JCA: Aligning European HTA Standards with National Access Decisions
Date and time: Wednesday November 11, 2026, 8:00am – 9:00am
Moderator: Magda Chatzikou (Pharmecons Easy Access)
Speakers: Tarang Sharma (WHO), Jacek Walczak and Boryana Ivanova
Date and time: Wednesday November 11, 2026, 10:00am – 11:00am
Moderator: Casper Paardekooper (Cencora)
Speakers: Neil Grubert (Neil Grubert Consulting), Eelko den Breejen (Pfizer) and Ferenc Marofka (European Commission)
Coverage of ISPOR Europe 2026 by The Evidence Base
Our editorial team will be attending some of these key sessions, where we’ll be sharing key insights in our daily round-ups published at the end of each day of the conference. Follow The Evidence Base on LinkedIn for live updates throughout the meeting. And for exclusive post-event analysis and session round-ups, register on our site to receive regular updates.
| Register for free today to become a member of The Evidence Base and receive the latest news straight to your inbox. |