Trump · CNBC Technology
New publishes of critical medicines are at stake, as prices and regulations discourage companies from launching them on the continent
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Uncertainty in the U.S.
Key facts
- Without pharma, Europe would be running a trade shortfall of 88 billion euros ($103 billion), instead of a 130 billion euros surplus, Moll said
- Europe spends around 1% of GDP on pharmaceuticals compared with 2% in the U.S. and 1.8% in China, with EU spending on medicines remaining largely flat for two decades, according to the trade
- Today, the U.S. share of R&D has jumped to 55%, while Europe's has plummeted to 26%
- A frequently cited study by the RAND Corporation in 2024 found that drug prices in the U.S. were almost three times higher than in 33 other high-income countries
Summary
Once the go-to location for global drugmakers, Europe is now being squeezed by President Donald Trump's aggressive trade and drug-pricing policies on one side, and China's explosive biotech boom on the other. The pharma industry is a cornerstone of Europe's economy, but the continent's declining competitiveness has companies looking elsewhere to place investments. Uncertainty in the U.S. and threat of most-favored-nation pricing "has given pharma companies a lever to pull the negotiations with European governments or European regulators," ING healthcare analyst Diederik Stadig told CNBC, referring to a Trump policy where the price of a drug in the U.S. is set to the lowest price paid by another comparable country. Meanwhile, China has emerged as a leader in biotech — the innovation engine of pharma. For decades, Europe was the world's undisputed laboratory.