(MENAFN- Swissinfo) A well-known brand of hormone replacement therapy, Estradot, will no longer be covered by insurance in Switzerland. The reason: the health authorities and the drugmaker couldn't agree on a price. This content was published on November 6, 2025 - 14:00 9 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.

• More from this aut
• English Departm

• 日本語 ja スイス女性、ホルモン療法を自己負担へ 価格交渉決裂で Read more: スイス女性、ホルモン療法を自己負担へ 価格交

In September, Simone Kobler, a gynecologist specialised in women's hormonal health in northern Switzerland, received some frustrating news. Estradot, the oestrogen replacement therapy in the form of a transdermal patch, which is used by millions of women around the world to manage menopausal symptoms, would no longer be covered by Switzerland's compulsory health insurance.

For those patients with supplementary insurance, the medicine may still be partially reimbursed. For all others, they would need to pay out of pocket. One pharmacy in Bern quoted a price of CHF40 ($49.40) for a 24-pack (75mg) of Estradot, which lasts 12 weeks. Among patients, which include women of different ages as well as transgender individuals, many take hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) for more than two years.

“It is tragic that a drug that can contribute so much to women's health by, for example, preventing the risk of osteoporosis and other organ damage, is simply being cancelled and nobody seems to care,” Kobler told Swissinfo in an email.“This means people will have to pay for it themselves, which is impossible for young people in particular.”

The drugmaker, Sandoz, which has its headquarters in Basel, said it had“no choice” but to remove Estradot from the Specialities ListExternal link (Switzerland's list of insured medicines) on September 1 because of rising costs of raw materials and production. This made Estradot“no longer cost-effective at the prices prescribed on the Specialities List,” Danja Spring, who heads media relations at Sandoz Switzerland, told Swissinfo.

Estradot isn't an isolated case in Switzerland or globally. Price disputes between health authorities and drugmakers are increasingly common. Swissinfo recently reported on Basel-based pharma giant Roche's decision to remove a new cancer drug from the list.

More More Drug pricing The high stakes fight over drug prices

This content was published on Sep 19, 2025 Global drug pricing disputes are intensifying as pharma firms and regulators clash over how much a medicine is worth.

Read more: The high stakes fight over drug p

MENAFN06112025000210011054ID1110307002