Pfizer deal gives Novartis and Roche stocks boost

Pfizer's US deal gives Novartis and Roche wings on the stock exchange Keystone-SDA

Pharmaceutical stocks rebounded in a big way on the Zurich stock exchange in the wake of a tariff agreement reached by Pfizer in the United States.

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Long under pressure due to intentions to regulate drug prices in the US, companies are breathing a sigh of relief after US giant Pfizer was granted a three-year immunity against any prohibitive surcharges wielded by President Donald Trump in exchange for a series of concessions.

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Considering that this new business model could become the new normal, analysts welcome the decrease in uncertainty for the entire industry. Investors welcome the developments taking place and the effect on the stock exchange was not lacking: at midday on Wednesday Roche gained 5.3%, Novartis 2.4% and Lonza 0.8%.

Pfizer’s preparations will be sold more cheaply under the government’s Medicaid health programme, Trump indicated at a press conference last night. The president also announced the creation of the ‘TrumpRx’ website, which will offer patients direct access to drugs at discounted prices in order to “bypass the middlemen”.

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US investments

In addition to the price reductions, Pfizer has promised to invest over $70 billion in research, development and domestic production.

Trump’s plans include bringing medicine prices in the US in line with lower prices in other rich countries. In the summer, he had asked 17 major pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis and Roche, to reduce their prices according to this principle. It had set a deadline by the end of September and threatened high tariffs.

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Pfizer is only the first company with which a deal has been reached, Trump pointed out. “We’ll make deals with everybody, I’m on the waiting list,” he said. And if there is no deal, then there will be tariffs, he added.

The Swiss pharmaceutical giants would not let on whether they are currently negotiating similar packages. “We have been in discussions with the government on how to meet the demands,” Novartis indicated to the Awp news agency.

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“We remain committed to finding constructive solutions that reduce costs for Americans and address price differences between the US and other high-income countries.”

Roche’s reaction was similar. “We continue to work closely with the US government to achieve our common goals of strengthening US manufacturing and improving the affordability of medicines for patients in the United States,” the company notes. At the same time, the group reports on its plans to invest $50 billion in the US over the next five years.

Translated from Italian by DeepL/mga

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