President Donald Trump has sent letters to the CEOs of the 17 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.
Among them are European giants such as Sanofi, AstraZeneca, and Novo Nordisk. In the letters, he calls on them to significantly reduce the prices of medicines in the US, so that they are at the level they already apply in other developed countries.
This initiative is part of Trump’s broader healthcare policy and builds on the regulation he announced back in May. The goal is to introduce a “most-favored nation” model for patients who are users of the Medicaid program, which would lead to significantly lower drug prices, including new preparations.
Pharmaceutical companies have until September 29 to submit binding responses to these requests.
The industry, however, warns that implementing such changes would be very complicated. On the other hand, the Trump administration says it will use all available mechanisms to curb, as they say, abuses in the formation of drug prices.
Following the announcement of this initiative, the stock prices of major European pharmaceutical companies fell between one and four percent, while Novo Nordisk’s stock fell by four percent, reaching its lowest level in the last four years.
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Source: Kurir; Photo: AP