Intervju
Most Favored Nation (MFN): Implications for market access, launch strategy, and innovation
Corporate partner insights interview by ISPOR
Disclaimer:
The views shared in this interview are the participants’ own, do not represent Cencora’s official positions, and should not be considered legal or purchasing advice. Cencora, Inc. encourages readers to use their own judgment when making decisions.
Most Favored Nation (MFN) is often discussed as a U.S. cost-containment measure, but its impact extends far beyond the U.S. and pricing, making it one of the most closely watched developments in today's healthcare policy landscape.
Casper Paardekooper is Vice President of Health Policy and Strategy at Cencora, with more than 20 years of experience in strategy consulting and market access. A trusted advisor, author, and speaker, he provides insights on evolving health policy, patient access, and payer trends. In this interview, he joins Patti Peeples, President of The Peeples Collaborative and an experienced moderator of healthcare discussions, to explore the opportunities, challenges, and unanswered questions surrounding MFN.
Produced in collaboration with ISPOR, this conversation is part of a broader series featuring industry leaders discussing emerging trends in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), global market access, and healthcare policy.
Watch the interview below to learn more.
Casper Paardekooper is Vice President of Health Policy and Strategy at Cencora, with more than 20 years of experience in strategy consulting and market access. A trusted advisor, author, and speaker, he provides insights on evolving health policy, patient access, and payer trends. In this interview, he joins Patti Peeples, President of The Peeples Collaborative and an experienced moderator of healthcare discussions, to explore the opportunities, challenges, and unanswered questions surrounding MFN.
Produced in collaboration with ISPOR, this conversation is part of a broader series featuring industry leaders discussing emerging trends in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), global market access, and healthcare policy.
Watch the interview below to learn more.
Why is MFN becoming an important market access issue?
Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing is often viewed through the lens of drug costs in the U.S.. But its potential implications extend further, affecting launch planning, market access, innovation, clinical development, and investment decisions in Europe, Canada and Japan.
While early signals are emerging, MFN is evolving alongside broader changes across the European healthcare landscape, including market access and policy reforms. Understanding how these developments interact may be just as important as understanding MFN itself.
In this conversation, Casper Paardekooper shares the trends organizations should monitor and why the implications of MFN may reach far beyond pricing alone.
Key takeaways
- MFN may influence decisions beyond pricing and reimbursement.
- International reference pricing (IRP) can create effects across multiple markets.
- Delayed and forgone launches are emerging as some of the most closely watched consequences of MFN.
- MFN should be assessed alongside EU HTA and other European policy developments.
- Cross-functional collaboration is becoming increasingly important.
- Many long-term effects remain uncertain and require ongoing monitoring.
- Balancing affordability, innovation, and patient access will require more effort in open discussion and understanding others.
Frequently asked questions
Most Favoured Nation (MFN) is a U.S. pricing framework that links the U.S. price of a medicine to prices in other affluent countries, often by referencing the lowest or most favourable available price.
MFN pricing builds on the principles of international reference pricing by using external market prices as a benchmark. Changes in one market can therefore influence pricing decisions in others.
Companies may need to consider how launch sequencing, pricing decisions, and evidence generation plans could influence prices across multiple markets connected through reference pricing mechanisms.
MFN pricing and EU HTA or other European healthcare policies may seem as distinct policy mechanisms, but both may influence market access decisions at the same moment. Organizations may need to consider how pricing policies and evidence requirements interact when planning future launch and access strategies.
MFN policies have the potential to influence pricing, reimbursement, launch planning, evidence requirements, and broader market access strategy. Understanding emerging developments can help organizations prepare for future changes.
