Readers,

States can have market shaping power if they come together and increase their leverage to say, influence drug pricing and access. But this is not as straight forward as it sounds.

At the European level, Spain is spearheading an initiative towards an aggregated market in the context of the EU Biotech Act.

Today's important story is brought to you by Rory O’Neill, a global health journalist based in London who has tracked EU health policy for several years.

Such efforts at the regional levels can have ripple effect elsewhere. In Geneva, countries are discussing reforms in the global health architecture, that could potentially touch on issues of procurement.

This week, we will be reporting from the WHO on the negotiations over the Pathogen Access Benefit Sharing system. More from us in the coming days.

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Priti Patnaik, Founder & Publisher, Geneva Health Files

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I. GHF ANALYSIS

Spain's Push For Radical Reform Of Pharma R&D: Bulk Procurement For An Aggregated Market

By Rory O’Neill

Rory O’Neill is a global health journalist based in London who has extensively reported on intellectual property, access to medicines and EU health policy.

Spain wants to overhaul Europe's pharmaceutical R&D model with a plan for EU countries to club together to secure access to new drugs.

A plan to amend the European Commission's proposed EU Biotech Act, circulated among EU capitals on September 10 and obtained by Geneva Health Files, would markedly expand the use of joint procurement for medicines.

The architect of the plan, Spanish State Secretary for Health Javier Padilla, told Geneva Health Files the proposal was among the most detailed and ambitious alternative pharma models put forward by an EU government.

The Biotech Act, first proposed in December 2025, is the Commission's plan to revitalise Europe’s biotechnology sector with financial support and regulatory initiatives. Among the most controversial elements of the plan is a proposed 12-month patent extension for some biotech drugs, subject to made-in-EU conditions, as a way of spurring investment in new products.