The signs suggest that Nicola Magrini, the new director general of the Italian medicines regulator, AIFA, will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor in fighting for transparency in drug pricing.

In Belgium, there are increasing tensions between drug price transparency and getting the best deal for the Belgian government.

Drug pricing is an issue that is not going to go away. For many the problem relates to prices being too high, for others it is simply that the real prices paid for products is not clear, nor is it transparent how those prices come about. 

The new appointments to the top jobs at NICE may bring continuity at a challenging time for the institute, but perhaps not the real change that some in the industry say is needed. 

Innovation is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as “(the use of) a new idea or method.” The term is bandied about a great deal in the life sciences industry. Is it actually helpful to use the term so widely, or does the sector risk overlooking true innovation? This can be applied not only to the drugs coming to market, but how they are paid for as well.

Incentives matter; they motivate us to do things. There is renewed interest in just what motivates the life sciences industry to make the choices it does when determining the diseases it will focus on, and how much effort it puts in. This stems from concern about too much effort going into some areas, and too little in others.