France has signed a new medicines pricing framework between the Economic Committee for Health Products (Comité économique des produits de santé, CEPS) and four pharmaceutical-industry organisations, replacing the previous agreement and running to 30 September 2030.
The principal change is a more explicit lifecycle approach to pricing. Medicines receiving an ASMR I–III, together with selected ASMR IV products, can qualify for a temporary launch price above the level that CEPS would otherwise derive from its standard pricing criteria. The size of the advantage can also reflect prior early access and recruitment of patients in France into pivotal clinical trials.
This builds on the existing ability of medicines with substantial added therapeutic benefit to secure prices above relevant comparators. The difference is that the higher launch price is now linked to a defined subsequent price trajectory.
The first reassessment will normally occur after three or four years. A five-year interval can apply exceptionally to highly innovative medicines with a fully French manufacturing chain. Further reviews are expected every two years and may take account of actual sales, therapeutic competition and changes in clinical value. Price reductions can therefore be brought forward relative to the previous framework.
The agreement also revises comparator rules and contains separate provisions for generics, biosimilars, mature medicines, supply security and industrial investment. The overall effect is to make the trade-off between early price recognition and later price erosion more explicit, with greater visibility over when prices will be reopened during the commercial life of a medicine.
Source: Ministry of Health
Link: Prix des médicaments : l'État et le secteur pharmaceutique concluent un nouvel accord cadre (Medicine prices: the State and pharmaceutical sector conclude a new framework agreement)
Date: 29 September 2026
Source: APMnews
Link: Médicament : l'accord-cadre 2026-2030 en détail (Medicines: the 2026–2030 framework agreement in detail)
Date: 29 September 2026
Source: French Senate
Link: L'innovation thérapeutique (Therapeutic innovation)
Date: 8 July 2026
