While they await further details on England’s new Innovative Medicines Fund, industry and other stakeholders are asking questions about how far the fund – due for launch later this year – will be adapted to fit non-cancer therapies.

Industry has paid millions of pounds under the ongoing UK Voluntary Scheme on Branded Medicines Pricing and Access but there are concerns over poor progress with other commitments that were promised under the scheme for managing branded medicine spend by the National Health Service.

The COVID-19 pandemic will have a lasting impact on the world, including on Health Technology Assessment (HTA). The debate on how HTA should change as a result of COVID-19 is gaining momentum, but could a wider approach to value and a higher threshold be a false dawn?

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.