The government and the pharmaceutical industry have strengthened their partnership through the Comité économique des produits de santé and Les entreprises du médicament to combine competitiveness, access to innovation and cost containment as part of the Social Security Financing Bill 2025.
The French government and the pharmaceutical industry, represented by the Comité économique des produits de santé (Ceps) and Les entreprises du médicament (Leem), have recently embarked on a new contractual dynamic. The aim of this partnership is to reconcile industrial competitiveness and control of public healthcare expenditure, while guaranteeing access to therapeutic innovations and security of supply. It is part of the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) for 2025, in response to an alert concerning a potential €1.2 billion overspend on drugs.
The agreement includes several key measures, such as limiting the safeguard clause to €1.6 billion, which caps pharmaceutical company contributions to the Social Security budget. In addition, 600 M€ of savings will be sought through the proper use of medicines, notably via “delisting” (access without prescription) of certain treatments without affecting their reimbursement. This strategy aims to rationalize prescriptions while maintaining access to care for patients.
Finally, joint management tools will be introduced to secure national and European production of strategic medicines. This industrial initiative is part of a strategy to promote healthcare sovereignty, reducing France’s dependence on imports from outside the European Union and simplifying access to medical innovations for patients. This partnership bears witness to a shared determination to guarantee both the sustainability of the healthcare system and the development of a competitive and resilient pharmaceutical industry.
Find out more
The Government and the pharmaceutical industry commit to a new contractual dynamic, Press release – Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry, November 21, 2024.
PLFSS 2025 – Accord trouvé en urgence avec le Gouvernement suite à l’alerte de 1,2 milliard sur les dépenses de médicaments, Press release – Leem, November 21, 2024.
Budget 2025: pharmaceutical companies and the government bury the hatchet, Les Echos, November 21, 2024, Solenn Poullennec.
