Updated Spanish reference pricing order is anticipated to achieve nearly €288 million in annual savings
On 13 October 2025, the Ministry of Health announced in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (Official State Gazette) the annual update of the reference pricing system for medicines in the National Health System (SNS). This regulatory measure revises prices for 17,385 medicine presentations, including 13,871 dispensed by pharmacies and 3,514 in hospital settings. The revised reference price order introduces 14 new pharmacy groups and 12 new hospital groups while removing 35 obsolete groups. It further reviews the prices in 451 pharmacy and 259 hospital groups.
The Ministry estimates that the order will generate savings totalling €287.58 million, with €230.41 million attributed to pharmacy-dispensed medicines and €57.17 million to those dispensed in hospitals. To maintain medicine availability, the Ministry has incorporated exceptional rules into the reference price framework, particularly for medicines addressing rare dosage forms, serious conditions, or those subject to recent price review because of low profitability. Each medicine presentation has a minimum allowable reference price of €1.60. The order also exempts medicines considered essential by the World Health Organization from downward price revision, a measure covering 38 groups and 338 presentations.
Implementation proceeds in several steps. The new reference prices are applied by manufacturers from the day following publication. Distributors retain previous wholesale prices for a period of 20 days, and pharmacies maintain the previous retail price until the end of November. From 1 December 2025, all relevant reimbursement claims must reflect the new prices.
The reference pricing system in Spain, established two decades ago and reaffirmed by Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2015 and Real Decreto 177/2014, forms a central instrument for pharmaceutical cost containment and sustainability of the public health system. The new order fulfils the legal requirement for annual review, adapting pricing groups, revising set prices, and removing those that no longer meet the established criteria.
Source: Sanidad aprueba la nueva Orden de Precios de Referencia que supondrá un ahorro de más de 287 millones de euros
English: Health approves the new Reference Price Order which will save more than 287 million euros
Date: 13 October 2025
