In its judgment, the Federal Administrative Court (the Court) partially upheld a journalist’s appeal against a ruling of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) on access to documents concerning the prices of autologous CAR-T cell therapies. The Court held that the actual prices and discounts constituted business secrets.

The journalist had requested access under the Federal Act of 17 December 2004 on Freedom of Information in the Administration (Öffentlichkeitsgesetz, BGÖ) to documents relating to a tariff agreement approved by the Federal Council on 26 August 2020. The FOPH had granted access but had redacted the actual reimbursements, the discounts, and the estimated total costs. The Federal Supreme Court had set aside the Court’s first judgment and remanded the case (1C_475/2023).

On remand, the Court examined whether the redacted information constituted business secrets under art. 7 para. 1 let. g BGÖ. It found that disclosure would, with serious probability, lead to price reductions in the more than 20 countries directly referencing Swiss prices. The resulting losses for the companies’ groups would not be insignificant. While the final price of a product was generally not a business secret, the actual Swiss price here was a key variable in foreign price calculations. Given the small patient population, it could also be derived from the total costs. The context of a tariff agreement did not change this assessment, as tariffs were primarily set by the tariff partners.

The Court ordered disclosure only of redactions in one price agreement concerning its accessibility, term, and the parties’ relationship, as these contained no business secrets. It rejected further exceptions under art. 7 para. 1 let. h and art. 8 para. 4 BGÖ.

The Court noted that the new art. 52c of the Health Insurance Act (Bundesgesetz über die Krankenversicherung, KVG), adopted on 21 March 2025, would exclude access to refunds under pricing models, including in pending proceedings, but had not yet entered into force. 

For more information, see here.