Although the prices of the “liberation day” of President Donald Trump have spared pharmaceutical products, the specific drugs of drugs remain a sword of damocles that have stimulated anxiety among biopharmating leaders, who now fear that more than $ 100 billion in investments can leave the European Union.
Unless Europe offers a “rapid radical policy change”, pharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing are “increasingly likely to be directed to the United States”, PDG pharmaceuticals from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) warned the president of the European Commission on Tuesday.
About 16.5 billion euros ($ 18 billion) in biopharmate investment in the EU-27 territories could be threatened over the next three months, said EFPIA, citing a CEO survey last week among the leaders of 18 large and medium-sized innovative biopharma companies.
During the five years between 2025 and 2029, up to 103.2 billion euros ($ 113 billion) of expected capital and R&D expenses in the EU biopharma sector could leave the region, according to EFPIA. This is a majority proportion of the 164.8 billion total expenses expected from the pharmaceutical industry in the region during the period.
To help Europe maintain the pharmaceutical industry, CEOs have called for several actions, including strengthening the competitive commercial market in the region, intellectual property protections, the regulatory framework and the coherence of policies.
However, the list does not make specific suggestions on how the EU can manage potential American prices on pharmaceutical products, even if EFPIA noted that the addition of prices results in “little incentive to invest in the EU and the drivers important to move to the United States”
Trump’s radical reciprocal prices, unveiled on April 2, include 20% tasks on the EU, but seem to have excluded pharmaceuticals. Nevertheless, specific pharmaceutical prices seem to be a question of knowing when, not if, because Trump has repeatedly threatened prices targeting drugs both in public and during a private meeting of the White House with several leaders of Pharma in February.
Trump previously launched a 25% or more direct debit from pharmaceutical imports, although a Reuters report suggested last week that drug manufacturers put pressure on the president for such prices by stages.
The EU has become an attractive location for biopharmatic companies to treat their medical products and store intellectual property. A February survey by the commercial group La Biotechnology Innovation Organization revealed that 94% of the companies questioned expect EU prices to increase manufacturing costs, and that half of the companies should look for new research and manufacturing partners if Trump deploys pharmaceutical tariffs on European territory.
Trump distinguished Ireland, an EU member, moving the way the country used tax incentives to attract pharmaceutical companies.
“Suddenly, Ireland has our pharmaceutical companies, this beautiful island of five million people has within its reach of the American pharmaceutical industry,” Trump told a March meeting with Irish chef Micheál Martin at the White House.
A fierce pharmaceutical examination of public files shows that most large pharmaceutical companies have manufacturing operations in Ireland, with some exceptions such as Novartis.
Meanwhile, the Irish neighbor, the United Kingdom, who is no longer a member of the EU, works to consolidate pharmaceutical investments. The British Prime Minister said on Monday that he would reduce administrative formalities to allow the implementation of clinical trials within 150 days rather than 250 days on average, reports The Guardian. However, the pharmaceutical industry has greater problems with the British government in the form of an increase in drug prices.
Apart from Europe, China was also a large supplier of pharmaceutical products in the United States. Prices on pharmaceuticals manufactured in China would increase production costs by 70% of companies that responded to the February organic survey.
After China has unveiled 34% of reciprocal prices on all imports from the United States – without exemptions – and a wish to “fight until the end”, Jefferies analysts have thought that the Trump administration is likely to impose the prices of drugs from China very soon.
The Jefferies team has also seen little impact on the Chinese biotechnology industry of all potential American pharmaceutical prices because most local companies have American partners.
