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UK ministers are under pressure after Trump imposed fresh tariffs up to 15%, as Lord Stockwood assures key sectors such as pharma remain unaffected thanks to the UK-U.S. trade deal announced last DecemberThe trade deal announced in December includes a 25% rise in the cost-effectiveness threshold used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and a reduction in the rebate cap imposed on drugmakers under the current Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG). However, according to Polticio, U.S. officials are already looking beyond the current Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG), which runs until the end of 2028. People familiar with the talks told Politico that Washington wants a successor agreement negotiated before Trump leaves office in January 2029 and is pushing for a deal to be concluded by early 2028 to avoid U.S. election-year politicsMeanwhile, Lord Stockwood stated on Monday that "The Business Secretary spoke to U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer this weekend, making clear our concerns about uncertainty and our degree of confidence in the honouring of those agreements that we needed, and he had those reassurances. UK officials across Whitehall and Washington are engaging intensively with the U.S. as we speak, and those discussions will continue all of this week, at which time we can update the House"
During the week of February 23, 2026, several companies announced new partnerships and M&A activityDeals include several new licensing and commercialization agreements in China and Canada, as well as a research and licensing deal between Novartis and Unnatural Products to develop next-generation cardiovascular therapies using UNP’s AI-driven platformNAVLIN Daily’s roundup of industry deals and agreements from the past week is below
Last week saw the release of the first HTACG report, detailing the findings from the first year of JCAs in Europe Ex-U.S. markets are still investigating how global developments, particularly in the U.S., could affect drug pricing; Sweden’s Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV) has been tasked with analysing companies’ willingness to launch in Sweden under new rules Finally, HTA agencies in Europe were busy! HAS backed AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab), as well as granting post-MA early access scheme to Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan), while NICE recommended GSK’s Zejula (niraparib). In the Netherlands, ZIN rejected Leqembi, following in the footsteps of Denmark and France
A senior health official in the Trump administration revealed at the recent ACCESS Forum U.S. conference that the White House expects to engage in additional voluntary MFN deals with manufacturers starting April 2026The official also discussed several aspects of the Trump administration’s approach to MFN, including strategies for obtaining net price informationThe keynote focused on aspects of the voluntary deals and the GENEROUS model, which applies to Medicaid, and offered few details on GLOBE and GUARD, which are mandatory and apply to Medicare Part B and D, respectively
In a recent announcement, Germany’s Federal Joint Committee concluded that Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi (lecanemab) has no proven added benefit for adults with clinically diagnosed mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease, collectively referred to as early Alzheimer’s diseaseAlthough a statistical improvement in symptoms was observed in patients with mild Alzheimer’s dementia, the G-BA determined that the effect was not clearly clinically relevant. The assessment found no advantages or disadvantages relevant to reimbursement decisionsG-BA Chair Prof. Josef Hecken acknowledged high expectations but stressed that hoped-for benefits were not proven. He clarified that the decision does not restrict prescribing for statutory health insurance patients, and market availability remains solely the manufacturer’s decision
Spain’s National Health System (SNS) is funding nearly 80% of innovative medicines that apply for inclusion in public pharmaceutical provision, while cutting decision times by more than half in recent years, according to the Ministry of HealthFunding and access to medicines authorized under the European Union's centralized procedure were analysed from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2024, excluding vaccines, generic drugs, and biosimilars. During these four years, 230 innovative medicines were authorized in the EU“If we consider only the 189 drugs that did complete national registration and applied for inclusion in the public pharmaceutical benefit, the financing rate reaches 78.8%,” the Ministry explains. “This result highlights a high proportion of positive resolutions once the administrative procedure is activated and demonstrates the system's capacity to incorporate therapeutic innovation when it formally enters the evaluation circuit”
In a recent announcement, the EU Health Technology Assessment Coordination Group published its first annual report, confirming that 13 Joint Clinical Assessments (JCAs) were underway in 2025, including ten oncology products and three ATMPs, with six orphan-designated therapies and none yet at the endorsement stageStakeholder engagement remains central, with at least one patient or carer and one clinical expert involved in each assessment, bringing total participation to 38 contributors supporting scope setting and draft report reviewsMethodological coordination has been strengthened, as the methodological and procedural guidance (MPG) Subgroup established three Supporting Groups and a regulatory guidance working group with the EMA, holding nine meetings in 2025 to support assessors and align processes across JCAs
Last week, focus revolved mainly around the White House rolling out its discount drug platform, TrumpRx, featuring 40 prescription drugs made available by the first five manufacturers to reach MFN deals with the administration NAVIN Daily learned that legally grounded text still "does not exist" for the UK/U.S. pharmaceutical trade agreement, as verified with the DHSC, "as recently as Thursday of last week.” The claim stokes ongoing concerns that the arrangement is based on limited headline commitments rather than a signed legal text In Europe, the Vice Chair of the JCA subgroup confirmed that the first JCA report is expected in May 2026, while sonrotoclax was added to the ongoing JCA list
During the week of February 9, 2026, several companies announced new partnerships and M&A activityDeals include several new licensing and commercialization agreements in China and a deal between pharma giant Eli Lilly and Innovent Biologics for developing oncology and immunology drugsNAVLIN Daily’s roundup of industry deals and agreements from the past week is below
Last week, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly offered opposing views in their Q4 earnings calls on their ability to weather price cuts under Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing. The Trump’s administration’s top health agency officials also met with Republican members of Congress this week to discuss legislation intended to codify MFN drug pricing Jordan’s Ministry of Health released its first national HTA and Economic Evaluation Guideline, becoming the latest country in the Middle East to formalize the use of HTA. Read more about the increasing prevalence of HTA in the region in our latest monthly newsletter The Director of Spain’s Health Technology Assessment Agency (AETS), has outlined the agency's role in the new EU-funded CAPRICORD joint action, which is intended to move the NCAPR beyond informal exchange towards more structured collaboration with tangible outputs
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