Swiss latest to sound warning over medicines access

In common with many European countries, there are concerns in Switzerland that patients' access to some vital medicines is getting worse and worse.

A benchmarking study conducted jointly by regulatory agency Swissmedic and the pharma industry provides further evidence that the country has a real problem.

The study shows that the duration of reviews in Switzerland has increased in 2023, and that companies are submitting applications later. Drugs were approved in Switzerland—on average across all procedures—249 days later than by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). This is an increase of 48% compared to the previous year.