Regulation of medicinal products

The Swiss medicinal products sector is heavily regulated. After a medicine has been authorized by Swissmedic, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) decides whether to include it in the Specialties List (SL), thus making it reimbursable by the statutory health insurance providers (health insurers). The fundamental criteria here are efficacy, suitability and cost-effectiveness. The decision on inclusion is taken by the FOPH at the recommendation of the Federal Medicines Commission (FMC). Factors that are taken into account are the added therapeutic value – i.e. the effect of a medicinal product in comparison with products that have already been authorized for the same indication – and prices abroad. In Switzerland, the prices of prescription and reimbursable medicines are determined by the Federal Office of Public Health according to statutory criteria.

Medicinal products are divided into dispensing categories by the regulatory authority Swissmedic. Depending on the category it is assigned to, a medicine can be sold by pharmacies, self-dispensing doctors (doctors who are authorized to dispense medicines directly to their patients), hospitals or drugstores. Pharmacies are the major distribution channel, accounting for around 50 percent by value.

Development of the medicinal products sector

In 2024, the Swiss medicinal products sector achieved sales of CHF 7.7 billion at ex-factory prices. According to the IQVIA survey, the Swiss medicinal products sector grew by 3.5 percent in 2024 – significantly less than in the previous year. As has been the case in recent years, the medicinal products sector is growing primarily as a result of increasing demand for medical care and demographic developments. At the same time, institutionalized federal price reductions of around CHF 1.5 billion took effect once again, contributing to a dampening of overall sector growth by 3.6 percent.

Strong sales growth in generics and biosimilars

In 2024, generics sales broke through the billion mark for the first time ever, reaching CHF 1.05  billion. While the share of generics has grown steadily and strongly in recent years, patent expirations and, in particular, federal measures under the Health Insurance Ordinance (HIO) led to massive growth of +12.6 percent compared to the previous year. The share of generics has thus risen to a record high of 69 percent – in 69 out of 100 cases where a generic medicine is available, a corresponding pack is also dispensed. Biosimilars have also seen massive gains (+28.8%), achieving sales of CHF 224.2 million in 2024. Biosimilars and their reference products accounted for 6.3 percent by value in the reimbursable sector in 2024.

The growth in generics and biosimilars came particularly at the expense of originals (chemically manufactured products, -14.1% and biologics, -34.8%, respectively) and impressively demonstrates that federal measures under the HIO/HIBO revision are taking effect. The pharmaceutical industry is thus making another considerable contribution to cost containment. This development is likely to continue in the future.

Drug prices continue to fall year on year

The annual price reductions implemented by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) since 2012 contribute to recurring annual savings of over CHF 1.5 billion on medicines. For 2024, the FOPH reduced the prices of nearly 300 medicinal products – including medicines used in the areas of cardiovascular and circulatory systems, infectious diseases and ophthalmology – by an average of 12 percent. The price reviews for 2024 are not yet complete, and the FOPH will implement further price reductions. According to the national consumer price index, the drugs price index has also fallen for the 24th consecutive time, most recently by 2.6 percent in 2024. This shows that the FOPH’s reviews are taking effect and that the price level of medicines in Switzerland is continuously falling.