How A Clash With Roche Exposed Cracks In Switzerland's Drug Pricing System

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Switzerland's new fast-track process to speed up patient access to the latest drugs has hit its first major hurdle, with a stand-off between the regulator and pharma giant Roche over the price of its cancer treatment Lunsumio. The dispute risks setting a dangerous precedent. This content was published on September 19, 2025 - 09:00 10 minutes

I report on the Swiss pharmaceutical industry and healthcare topics such as access to medicine, biomedical innovation, and the impact of diseases like cancer. I grew up just outside San Francisco and studied international affairs with a focus on development economics and healthcare policy. Prior to joining SWI swissinfo in 2018, I was a freelance journalist and a researcher on business and human rights.

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Pharma multinational Roche has sent shockwaves through Switzerland's healthcare system, deploying a high-stakes strategy that's testing the power of the country's drug pricing regulator.

On July 1 the Basel-based company quietly pulled its new cancer drug mosunetuzumab, sold as Lunsumio, from its home market after talks broke down with the federal public health office (FOPH) over the price.

The failed negotiations meant the FOPH removed Lunsumio from the reimbursement list of its compulsory health insurance system, known as the Specialities List, denying patients access to the treatment. Roche could have done what it's done before – allow it to be reimbursed in individual cases. Instead, it took the far more drastic step of a full market withdrawal.

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