U.S. to reach drug pricing agreements with Novartis and Roche - Bloomberg

The administration of US President Donald Trump is preparing to announce new price agreements with Swiss pharmaceutical giants Novartis and Roche in the coming days, Bloomberg sources said. The deals could further ease trade tensions with Switzerland, which have grown due to Washington's increase in import duties, the agency said.

The White House is preparing agreements on drug prices with pharmaceutical giants Novartis and Roche, but the list of companies may include other manufacturers - the details are still being specified, Bloomberg reports citing its sources. Earlier, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and several other companies signed agreements with the Trump administration to reduce prices for certain drugs in exchange for duty relief.

One of the conditions for receiving tariff relief was to increase local production in the U.S., Bloomberg notes. Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the North Carolina plant last week. This year, Novartis pledged to invest $23 billion in the U.S. economy over the next five years and create a direct sales platform for its psoriasis drug Cosentyx. The company generates about 41% of its revenue in the U.S. and reports in dollars, Bloomberg writes. Among its key products is the heart drug Entresto.

Roche also said it would invest $50 billion in its U.S. business over the same period. Almost half of its revenues come from the US, the agency notes. Among the main drugs are Ocrevus (multiple sclerosis) and Tecentriq (oncology).

Novartis and Roche's Genentech unit declined to comment to Bloomberg on the details of a possible deal. However, Novartis confirmed the talks and said it is seeking "constructive solutions that can lower costs for Americans and close the price gap between the U.S. and other wealthy countries." A Genentech spokesman said the company supports the U.S. administration's goal of lowering prices and advocates that other countries "reward biopharmaceutical innovation with dignity."

"Until President Trump or administration officials formally announce the agreements, any publications on the topic remain speculation," White House spokesman Kush Desai told Bloomberg.

In November, Switzerland reached a preliminary trade agreement with the U.S. to reduce duties on a number of domestic goods, including watches: from 39% to 15%. This was the highest duty imposed by the US on developed countries.

Drug prices in the United States remain the highest in the world - and this has been repeatedly criticized by Trump, Bloomberg writes. Pharmaceutical companies, in turn, argue that this pricing model promotes innovation and growth in the industry. Although pharmaceuticals, like gold and semiconductors, were excluded from the duties, President Trump has repeatedly threatened to introduce them in the future, the agency recalls.

Trump sent letters to 17 major pharma companies over the summer demanding that they lower prices under government insurance programs, provide drugs on a Trump-branded direct sales platform, and agree future drug prices in the U.S. at the same level they are in other countries. In exchange, the companies would receive a multi-year reprieve from duties and potential regulation.

According to Bloomberg, companies that have received letters but have not yet made deals include AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, Amgen, Johnson & Johnson, GSK, Merck & Co, Regeneron and Sanofi.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor