The European Commission is developing guidance for Member States wishing to purchase antimicrobials through multi-year subscription contracts, following the October Pharmaceutical Committee review of progress by an eight-country working group.
The voluntary mechanism is provided for in Article 45 of the agreed EU pharmaceutical package, which still requires final parliamentary approval. Once applicable, it would allow participating authorities to separate all or part of manufacturer remuneration from sales volume, while requiring continuous supply in agreed quantities. Individual countries would retain control over their pricing and reimbursement decisions.
The working group, established in March and co-chaired by Spain and the Commission, includes Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. It has consulted health economists, antimicrobial-resistance experts, national pricing authorities, procurement bodies and manufacturers.
Its review compares existing approaches, including the UK’s fixed-fee subscription model, Sweden’s minimum-revenue guarantee and Nordic joint purchasing. Although Article 45 can cover antimicrobials generally, the group has concentrated on antibiotics, including innovative products with deliberately restricted use and established products exposed to supply risks.
The group is due to present its findings to the Pharmaceutical Committee on 9 November. The Commission expects to issue non-binding guidance in the first quarter of 2027, addressing valuation, remuneration, contract duration, supply obligations and participation by several countries.
The guidance should provide a common basis for negotiating revenue guarantees while allowing countries to adapt contract terms to national procurement and reimbursement arrangements. No EU-wide subscription contract or mandatory payment scheme has yet been established.
Source: European Commission, Pharmaceutical Committee
Link: Summary record – 104th meeting of the Pharmaceutical Committee, 6 October 2026
Date: 6 October 2026
Source: European Commission, Pharmaceutical Committee
Link: Voluntary subscription model for antimicrobials: progress on the Member States’ input to Commission guidelines under Article 45
Date: 6 October 2026
