Balancing Innovation and Access: Insights from AIM’s Fair Pricing Model and its Current and Future Applications

<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d11191572e130">Access to affordable medicines is a cornerstone of equitable healthcare yet escalating drug prices increasingly strain national healthcare systems. The International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies (AIM) developed a Fair Pricing Model as a transparent, cost-based alternative to current pricing practices, designed to reward true therapeutic value. This study applied the model across six European countries—Belgium, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Switzerland—to assess discrepancies between calculated fair prices and actual market prices for ten market-protected medicines authorised by the European Medicines Agency between 2015 and 2018. Selection criteria included therapeutic diversity, budget impact, and innovation, covering treatments for cancer, rare diseases, and chronic conditions. <p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" dir="auto" id="d11191572e132">Fair prices were calculated using a standardised R&amp;D cost of €800 million per medicine. Results showed that, on average, fair prices were 53% lower than list prices and 34% lower than estimated net prices after accounting for managed entry agreements, leading to substantial savings on national expenditures. When extrapolated to the European level, the model suggests potential annual net savings of €27 billion on the net expenditures for new medicines. These findings align with previous studies in Germany and Belgium, which reported potential savings of over €13 billion and €1 billion, respectively (with R&amp;D costs of €250 million). Currently, the model supports price negotiations by Dutch insurers and is being integrated into the EU-funded ASCERTAIN project. Overall, the model is used to set prices for bothinnovative andrepurposed medicines,improving transparency and fairness inpricing.