Astrazeneca vows to lower US medicine prices after pressure from Trump
Astrazeneca has bowed to pressure from US president Donald Trump to lower the cost of its medicines for patients in America.
The Cambridge-based pharma giant said it will provide direct-to-consumer sales to eligible patients with prescriptions for chronic diseases at a discount of up to 80 per cent off list prices, alongside participating in the US government’s new direct purchasing platform, which will allow patients to purchase medicines at a reduced cash price.
Astrazeneca said the move, which meets the stringent new requirements Trump has imposed on pharma businesses, would allow it to swerve any tariffs imposed on the sector for at least the next three years.
But the firm did not set out how large a financial hit it would be taking from the price cuts.
Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said the move “helps safeguard America’s pioneering role as a global powerhouse in innovation and developing the next generation of medicines.
“It is now essential other wealthy countries step up their contribution to fund innovation.”
Astrazeneca’s pivot to the US
The move marks the latest sign of Astrazeneca’s pivot towards the US to escape the wrath of Donald Trump as he threatens tariffs on pharma firms, citing pricing disparities between medicines sold in the US and elsewhere.
In July, the firm unveiled plans to invest as much as $50bn in manufacturing and R&D in the US after ditching its UK expansion plans in a blow to the government’s industrial strategy.
The company said it will spend the huge sum over the next five years, including on a new manufacturing facility in Virginia, its largest-ever single manufacturing investment.
That was followed in September by a decision to ‘upgrade’ its US listing, by replacing its existing Nasdaq listing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), a type of listing for trading overseas shares, with a direct listing of ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
Astrazeneca said it took the decision to give it “the flexibility to access the broadest possible available pool of capital.”
In the UK, the firm has abandoned its plans to build a £450m manufacturing plant in Merseyside, blaming a lack of government support.