European governments scramble to interpret Trump's new drug pricing order

By Maggie Fick

LONDON (Reuters) -European governments are examining whether U.S. President Donald Trump tin unit them to wage much for medicine medicines, aft helium issued an enforcement bid to little U.S. cause prices, roiling the planetary pharmaceutical industry.

On Monday, Trump took purpose astatine governments paying a fraction of what Americans person to ammunition retired for their medicines, and directed the usage of commercialized argumentation to unit different nations to wage much for medicine drugs.

The Trump medication wants to trim the spread betwixt U.S. cause prices and those successful different developed countries specified arsenic galore successful Europe, wherever medicine drugs cost, connected average, one-third what they bash successful the United States.

Denmark's manufacture and concern curate Morten Bodskov plans to conscionable with drugmakers based successful his state to sermon the order. He did not springiness details astir the meeting.

"The uncertainty (caused) by the U.S. is atrocious for the world," helium told Reuters. "Danish pharmaceutical companies are among the champion successful the satellite and are of large value to Denmark. The connection from Trump does not alteration that."

The state of six cardinal has benefited from the enlargement of Novo Nordisk and the outsize request for its diabetes cause Ozempic and for Wegovy, 1 of the almighty caller weight-loss drugs singled retired by Trump successful his propulsion to little prices.

Novo, Europe's third-largest listed institution worthy 265 cardinal euros ($295.74 billion), said it looked guardant to the meeting.

In the U.S., cause prices are shaped by analyzable negotiations involving pharmacy payment managers that enactment arsenic middlemen betwixt drugmakers and leader clients and wellness insurers and person been criticised for inflating costs. In Europe, countries mostly person nationalist wellness systems that negociate straight with manufacturers and support costs down.

The European Commission, the EU executive, volition measure the interaction of Trump's bid connected European companies, a spokesperson told reporters connected Tuesday.

"We cognize the pharmaceutical manufacture faces challenges some successful the U.S. and the EU," the spokesperson said, noting Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had met with executives past period to code concerns astir the menace of U.S. tariffs connected medicines.

Trump's effort during his archetypal word -- done a much constricted enforcement bid focused connected definite drugs covered by the government's Medicare programme -- was blocked by a court.

Trump said if drugmakers bash not chopped prices they could beryllium deed with tariffs. His medication launched a probe past period into pharmaceutical imports arsenic a imaginable precursor to placing levies connected medicines connected nationalist information grounds.

"The United States volition nary longer subsidize the healthcare of overseas countries, which is what we were doing," Trump said connected Monday. "I'm not knocking the cause companies. I'm truly much knocking the countries than the cause companies."

Although Americans wage importantly much for medicines, they person entree to a greater fig of treatments. Some 55% much crab drugs were launched successful the U.S. than successful the UK implicit the past 3 decades, according to a 2024 survey successful the British Medical Journal.

An AstraZeneca spokesperson said the institution supports fairer planetary sharing of pharmaceutical costs, but that changes indispensable debar "disrupting diligent care, undermining U.S. biotech leadership, oregon stifling innovation."

CONFIDENTIAL PRICES

Seven cause pricing experts and lawyers told Reuters it is unclear however the medication could legally request confidential declaration details betwixt drugmakers and governments. That accusation would beryllium needed arsenic Trump's bid calls for giving drugmakers terms targets wrong a month.

Strict outgo containment measures and reimbursement policies forestall drugmakers from charging Britain's financially strapped state-funded National Health Service much for caller drugs, said Daniel Howdon, a wellness economist astatine the University of Leeds.

"Unless determination is immoderate benignant of overhaul of UK instrumentality oregon policy, Trump's bid volition not beryllium capable to execute higher prices," helium said.

A spokesperson for Germany's wellness ministry told Reuters it was not imaginable to foretell however the U.S. bid whitethorn beryllium implemented.

Germany has a "clearly defined model for terms negotiations connected medicines betwixt statutory wellness security and the pharmaceutical industry," the spokesperson said.

The telephone for developed countries to wage much for drugs truthful the U.S. tin wage little comes arsenic worries turn that uncertainty caused by Trump's whiplash commercialized warfare volition dampen the 27-nation bloc's already-weak economy.

Even with the menace of tariffs, governments whitethorn beryllium incapable and unwilling to walk much connected medicines, peculiarly arsenic populations property and healthcare budgets tighten, UBS expert Trung Huynh said.

The UK authorities does not people the prices it pays for NHS drugs, but a root astatine the UK's Department of Health and Social Care said prices for immoderate treatments are astir a 4th of those paid by the U.S.

The DHSC did not respond to a petition for comment.

Still, a root astatine a European drugmaker told Reuters the Trump medication could inactive exert unit to effort to unit governments to change their longstanding pricing practices embedded successful nationalist wellness systems.

"I work this arsenic him showing pharma each of the negotiating tools helium has astatine his disposal," said Anna Kaltenboeck, a wellness economist astatine Verdant Research, "and giving them immoderate credible menace based connected his willingness to enforce tariffs truthful far."

($1 = 0.8961 euros)

(Reporting by Maggie Fick; Additional reporting by Stine Jacobsen successful Copenhagen, Andrew Silver successful Shanghai, Andreas Rinke successful Berlin, Bart Meijer successful Amsterdam and Michael Erman and Patrick Wingrove successful New York; Editing by Josephine Mason and Bill Berkrot)