CHOICE Institute Professor Emeritus Lou Garrison organized a session on value and access at the ACCESS Forum EU25 in Athens, alongside colleagues John Yfantopoulos (Emeritus Professor, University of Athens), Kavita Patel (General Manager, Roche Hellas), and András Incze (CEO, Akceso Advisors).
The discussion examined critical issues shaping global access to innovative medicines. Garrison highlighted recent attention on the share of GDP spent on innovative medicines in advanced economies, raising questions about free-riding and optimal differential pricing. Yfantopoulos pointed to chronic under-investment in public resources in southern and central Europe, while Patel emphasized the need for intellectual property protection, broad societal value frameworks, and sustainable funding policies to foster innovation. Incze stressed building mutual trust and encouraging high-income countries to pay their share, cautioning that price transparency can sometimes be counterproductive.
Reflecting on the session, Garrison noted, “The session will, hopefully, stimulate further thinking on how best to improve global access to innovative medicines through more efficient and equitable sharing of the costs and benefits of global biopharmaceutical research & development.”
