Zurich (AFP) – President Donald Trump’s plans to dramatically slash drug prices for Americans could make Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche cancel major investments in the United States, it said Wednesday. Trump signed an executive order Monday aimed at bringing down the notoriously high prescription drug prices paid by US consumers, news that rattled pharmaceutical companies.
Swiss newspaper NZZ reported Trump’s move could lead Roche to reassess plans it announced just last month to invest $50 billion in the United States over five years. Roche, the world leader in cancer treatments, said in a statement it did not expect Trump’s new drugs policy to hurt its business in 2025.
“However, should the proposed EO (executive order) go into effect, Roche’s ability to fund the significant investments previously announced in the US will be in question,” it said. Trump has been pushing foreign firms to invest more in the United States, saying the way to avoid his tariff assault on foreign-made goods is to produce them on US soil instead.
Prescription drugs were not targeted in Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. Still, Roche appeared to take heed with its April investment announcement, which came just after fellow Swiss rival Novartis said it would increase investment in the United States by $23 billion over five years.
The United States is a key market for Roche, accounting for more than half its pharmaceutical division’s revenues. Roche’s US subsidiary Genentech announced a $700-million project Monday to build a new plant in North Carolina, which it says would employ 400 people.
© 2024 AFP
