Trump Vows to Cut US Drug Prices by Up to 80% in Industry Blow
President Donald Trump said he plans to order a cut in the cost of US prescription drugs by requiring Americans to pay no more than people in countries with the lowest prices. Shares of pharmaceutical companies plunged worldwide. In a social media post, Trump said he would sign an executive order at 9 a.m. Monday in Washington to institute what he called a most-favored-nation policy.
While he did not provide details, investors are grappling with the potential implications for the world’s largest pharmaceutical market.
Trump said his plan would make the US “pay the same prices as the lowest-priced country anywhere in the world.” Predicting that pharmaceutical prices could drop 30% to 80% in the US, Trump also said prices would likely “go up around the World to equalize and, for the first time in many years, bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA!” U.S. pharmaceutical stocks plunged before the official opening of trading in New York, with Eli Lilly & Co., Pfizer Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Merck & Co. Inc. all falling.
European pharmaceutical companies including Novo Nordisk A/S, Sanofi SA and AstraZeneca Plc fell, missing out on a broader market rally, while in Asia, the pharmaceutical subgroup of Japan’s Topix index posted its biggest one-day loss since August.
Source: Bloomberg
