Most-Favored-Nations Drug Pricing Policy: White House Quietly Releases Report Describing Voluntary MFN Deals

On May 6, 2026, the White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA)[1] discretely released the first report quantifying its view of the projected savings generated by the administration’s Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) drug pricing policy framework, based on existing MFN pricing agreements and expectations for future MFN agreements. According to the report, the MFN framework is expected to generate an estimated $529B in domestic savings and a 30% decrease in net prices for drugs in the U.S. over the next 10 years.

FDA’s Elsa at Eleven Months: AI-Powered Operations and One-Day Inspections Signal a New Oversight Paradigm

Recent United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcements continue to highlight the agency’s increasing development and use of artificial intelligence. Earlier this month, FDA announced the launch of the latest version of Elsa – the internal AI solution it first announced last June. That same day, speaking at the Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI) annual conference, the FDA Commissioner at the time, Dr. Martin Makary, announced a new pilot program for “one-day inspections” driven by AI-backed risk analysis for low-risk facilities. Taken together, and against the backdrop of Elsa’s launch less than a year ago, these developments show a continued push from FDA to leverage AI to expedite its operations, including in the enforcement space – a push that could have direct consequences for regulated entities across FDA product categories.

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EU Pharma Package: Compromise Text Published – Best Efforts Required (Part 2)

After a 10-year process, the compromise text of the new EU General Pharmaceutical Legislation (GPL or Pharma Package) has been published and will soon become law. This blog post discusses the 10 most important changes for company pipelines, transition mechanisms, interaction with other laws, and next steps, and concludes that best efforts will be required from all stakeholders, including Member States, to make the new provisions work and create an attractive environment for medicinal products in the EU – including the interaction between with the Critical Medicines Act (compromise text adopted on 12 May 2026) and the Biotech Act (which is in progress).

Navigating the European Health Data Space Regulation: An (Uneasy) Marriage Between EHDS and GDPR (Part 2)

The European Health Data Space Regulation (EHDS Regulation) took effect on March 26, 2025. Most of its secondary use provisions will apply from March 2029, and implementation at EU and Member State level will have to take place between 2027 and 2035. Health data represents over 30% of the world’s data assets, yet less than 3% is utilized for secondary purposes such as research, regulatory, or public health purposes, a persistent “data-to-value” gap. This update examines how the EHDS Regulation seeks to close that gap by introducing a more prescriptive legal framework for access to health data for (certain) secondary use purposes whilst still aligning with requirements under EU privacy law; and what life sciences companies should be doing now to anticipate such secondary use obligations, data access requests, and opportunities.

Delaware Supreme Court Makes Earnouts Less Risky For Buyers
Earnout Decision Partially Reversed Because Buyer Did Not Have to Pursue an Alternative Regulatory Pathway

Earnouts are a common feature of life sciences deals, and a 2024 Chancery Court decision had increased the financial risk for buyers agreeing to an earnout.  However, the Delaware Supreme Court’s partial reversal of Johnson & Johnson v. Fortis Advisors LLC has addressed this issue by limiting the application of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

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Sharon Flanagan

San Francisco, Palo Alto

sflanagan@sidley.com

Sacha Jamal

Knowledge Management Lawyer

sjamal@sidley.com

EU Pharma Package: Sharp New Tools With Limited Protections (Part 1)

Last week, concluding a seven-year process, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament agreed on the EU Pharma Package consisting of a new Pharmaceutical Directive and Pharmaceutical Regulation. The Package introduces pivotal changes to the EU pharmaceutical legislation, most significantly the introduction of new launch and supply obligations with only limited safeguards and a reduction and modulation of regulatory data protection and market protection, requiring companies to re-think their pipeline strategies. The provisional agreement now needs to be endorsed by both the Council and the Parliament before being formally adopted and entering into force upon publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. The final text is expected to become available in the coming weeks.

U.S. Drug Pricing Year in Review: Reflections on 2025 and Getting Ready for 2026

Federal drug pricing pressures intensified in 2025 with the second Trump administration. This Update reviews the year’s pivotal shifts and outlines what manufacturers should expect as they prepare for a more complex 2026.

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