Deeper drug prices for the USA: Trump annoys the pharmaceutical

The medication in the USA should be 30 to 90 percent cheaper in one fell swoop. US President Trump has signed a corresponding decree. This could have serious consequences for the Swiss pharmaceutical industry.

Only Federal President Karin Keller-Sutter praised the positive progress in discussions with the US partners. Together they determined the timetable how Switzerland wants to avert the impending customs hammer from America.

Now Switzerland is threatened with the next unemployment. US President Donald Trump signed one of the most far-reaching decrees in the country’s history on Monday afternoon, as he said himself: The prices for prescription drugs and medicines are to be reduced by 60, 70, 80 to 90 percent.

He implemented what he had already announced on Sunday evening at the Truth Social Intelligence Service.

Trump already has a specific plan on how to implement it. The so -called Most Favored Nations’s Policy is based on the medication prices of other countries: « The United States will pay the same price as the nation, which pays the lowest price worldwide, » explains Trump.

In contrast to Switzerland and other European countries, the United States does not know any state price regulation of medicinal products in order to limit the costs for patients. Therefore, they are often significantly more expensive. According to Trump, medication such as the diabetes Ozempic is up to ten times more expensive, although it was made by the same company in the same country and the same laboratory. By paying massively higher prices for exactly the same pill, they subsidized “socialism abroad”, Trump scolded.

Criticism also from the USA

Trump now promises his compatriots: Finally the USA is being treated fairly and the citizens benefited from much deeper health costs. In addition, the country saves thousands of dollars. In view of the horrendous prices, Trump calls the current system a « disaster »: the American fools (« Suckers ») had borne the high research costs alone – without any reason.

It is known that Trump has wanted to reduce high medication prices for years. Already in his first term he started the attempt to introduce the principle of the « Most Favored Nation »but did not penetrate in parliament. The topic came back in his election campaign. Now it is gaining political popularity because the change has a positive effect on the financing of state health insurance companies.

The state -funded health care services save Medicare and Medicaid a lot of money through deeper drug prices, without reducing benefits for the insured and the poor population. Since the publication of the presidential decrees, it has now been known that a new mechanism should also enable private individuals to buy medication directly from the manufacturers – and switch off middlers. According to Trump, these are unnecessary, but deserved tons of money.

How this should be implemented is still unclear. In addition, the change is not yet dry. The resistance of the American pharmaceutical industry and its lobby was already great at the last attempt to reduce medication prices: Because price decay for medication would also be devastating for the US companies and would slow down the development and research of new medication.

The end of the running board?

The Americans’ plans would immediately have followed for the rest of the states, as Trump captures. « The costs will increase all over the world to make a balance. » This would finally experience justice.

Trump’s proposal is not surprising for the local pharmaceutical industry: the American President has been complaining about the free-board driving of other countries to finance pharmaceutical research for a long time. Against this background the Novartis boss Vas Narasimhan In the “Financial Times” two weeks ago, for higher medication prices in Europe: they should be increased to the US level.

Is that still up to date after the latest announcement? Trump was tried not to upset the pharmaceutical bosses and blame Europeans for the high prices for the high prices-and not the manufacturers.

René Buholzer, Managing Director of the Interpharma industry association, would consider that the strongly reduced medication prices would enormously reduce the attractiveness of the American market. « It also contradicts the request of the US president that the pharmaceutical industry invests billions in the location. » However, it was always clear that Trump is not only about tariffs, but also about prices.

How Trump’s politics has a concrete effect can not yet be estimated, says Buholzer. That depends on the exact implementation. However, the execution provisions are still missing.

The relations alone show how important the US market is with 340 million people. According to the US, Americans finance around 75 percent of global pharmaceuticals-with five percent of the world’s population.

Is prices rise in Switzerland?

« The new pricing policy can have enormous effects that force companies to look at the cost structures and check the high -risk investment, » says René Buholzer.

Buholzer does not rule out the prices for medicines in Switzerland and Europe. « But it is still too early to estimate the effective consequences. » He sees that the state -regulated systems reached limits. But this also opens up opportunities to find better solutions in order to finance medical progress in the future. The Swiss system is not up to date either, says Buholzer.

But that is the future music. Depending on the implementation of Trump’s politics, not only the pharmaceutical industry is hit hard-the entire economy can be damaged. The two pharmaceutical giants Novartis and Roche are export kings and generate a high added value in Switzerland, and they are also one of the strongest taxpayers in the country.