Health system budget pressures are driving an increasing interest in tenders, which are becoming both more common and complex. Tendering accounts for around 40% of drug purchases in Europe by value, and nearly all hospitals are using tenders to procure drugs. In this increasingly competitive landscape of pharmaceutical market access, securing public tenders is pivotal for product adoption and revenue generation. However, the complexities of net pricing and diverse award criteria present significant challenges. Experienced pharma professionals understand the challenge: The gap between list price and net price in a tender environment can be so significant, that knowing the list price is not sufficient to make any informed tender decision. What is needed is reliable competitor net pricing information. This is true for established products facing harsh competition from multiple suppliers as well as when launching a new product into a tender. Without a clear answer, your bid is either too aggressive, risking margin erosion or too conservative, leading to lost opportunities.
This is the harsh reality of pharmaceutical tendering. Pricing transparency is virtually nonexistent, making it increasingly difficult for companies to make informed, competitive bids. Critical decisions are made with incomplete information but mastering net pricing is the key to winning tenders, while also safeguarding profitability.
Why is Net Pricing in Pharma so hard to track?
Pharmaceutical tendering is anything but straightforward. The lack of a standardized pricing structure creates a fragmented and inconsistent pricing landscape. Some key challenges include:
- Tender prices often include significant confidential discounts and rebates negotiated at a national or institutional level.
- Pricing structures and reimbursement policies differ significantly across countries, making it difficult to compare net prices across markets.
- Price information is scattered across different documents, annexes, or even external references, requiring extensive manual effort to discover.
- Tenders are evaluated based on a mix of Award Criteria (price, quality, delivery & supply, additional benefits etc.), meaning the lowest price doesn’t always win.
Without a clear understanding of net pricing, pharma companies risk either underbidding, eroding profitability, or overbidding, losing critical market opportunities.
Beyond price: The role of Award Criteria
Pricing alone doesn’t determine tender success. Understanding how contracts are awarded is equally critical. Some tenders prioritize cost alone, requiring a competitive pricing strategy, while others weigh additional factors such as delivery timelines, product quality, safety, ESG or supply reliability. Many tenders blend price and non-price factors, demanding a strategic balance between cost competitiveness, value proposition and product differentiation.
A winning strategy requires pharma companies to align their pricing approach with these award criteria, ensuring they meet cost expectations while leveraging non-price advantages.
The solution: AI-powered Award Criteria analysis & Net Pricing intelligence
To empower strategic decision-making, Cube RM offers an advanced Award Criteria Dashboard, within our Tender Central tool. The dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of the most common criteria categories influencing tender awards, going beyond price criteria, tailored to the user’s specific product portfolio and configuration. It enables users to analyze the occurrence and weighting of these criteria across different countries and product portfolios and track the evolution of average weighting and occurrence over time, revealing valuable insights into shifting market dynamics.
By recognizing these emerging market trends, Life Sciences companies can proactively adapt their market access strategies and differentiate their offerings beyond price.
An AI-driven approach also brings clarity and structure to the fragmented world of net pricing. Our advanced AI algorithms scan and extract critical pricing data from tender documents across markets, ensuring no hidden pricing insights are overlooked. By working with strategic local partnerships and aggregating market-specific pricing information, we help pharma companies access reliable net pricing data.
By delivering accurate, AI-driven net pricing intelligence and a comprehensive understanding of evolving award criteria, our platform enables tendering & market access departments to move beyond guesswork and make informed, data-driven decisions. This translates into optimized bidding strategies, enhanced market access, and ultimately, increased profitability in a highly competitive market.
If you are ready to discover how Cube RM can help you stay ahead from your competition, book a free demo here.
10/04/2025 
