Roche Warns US Investment at Risk From Trump Drug Price Plan

(Bloomberg) — Roche Holding AG said it would need to reconsider planned US investments if President Donald Trump implements an executive order to cut prescription drug costs.

Last month, Roche said it planned to invest $50 billion in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics in the US over the next five years, creating more than 12,000 jobs. That pledge came after Trump threatened tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, citing companies’ reliance on manufacturing sites around the world to supply the US.

Trump signed an executive order Monday asking drugmakers to lower prices voluntarily or else face regulatory measures. 

“Should the proposed EO go into effect, Roche’s ability to fund the significant investments previously announced in the US will be in question,” a spokesperson for the Basel, Switzerland-based company said in an emailed statement. 

Roche doesn’t expect a business impact from the executive order for 2025, but said it would undermine “the US’s position as the world’s leading pharmaceutical and healthcare ecosystem, as well as dampen economic growth and lead to job losses in the US.”

Americans pay the most in the world for medicines, fueling innovation and driving the growth of the industry. The US government already negotiates prices for some of the highest-cost medicines used in Medicare under the Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed in 2022 under former President Joe Biden, with more slated to be added every year.

Roche’s rival Novartis AG, also based in Basel, said it has no plans to change its proposed capital expenditure in the US, according to a statement from the company.

Novartis has said it plans to invest $23 billion in the US over the next five years to ensure its key drugs for Americans are made in the country. The investment will fund seven new facilities, including a research outpost in California and six manufacturing sites across the country, Novartis had said in a statement last month.

Swiss newspaper NZZ earlier reported Roche’s comments on the potential impact of the executive order on its US investments.

–With assistance from Naomi Kresge.

(Updates with Novartis statement from seventh paragraph)

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