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Pharma tariff threat tests Roche US investment ambitions

Roche is considering its options in the US
Roche is considering its options in the US Keystone / Dominik Pluess

Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche could reconsider investing billions of dollars in the United States after President Donald Trump's pledge to lower medication costs.

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Roche and Novartis have both recently announced huge US investments, partly in the hope of gaining goodwill from Trump’s administration. But the US is now targeting substantial price reductions on medications.

+ Trump tariffs put pressure on Swiss pharma

“If the proposed executive order goes into effect, the significant investments in the US we previously announced would be put to the test,” said a Roche spokesperson, confirming a report in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

A little over a month ago, Novartis announced it would invest $23 billion in additional factories and research laboratories in the US over the next five years. Roche plans to spend $50 billion on capacity expansion over the same period.

Trump’s executive order has instructed the US Department of Health and Human Services to begin negotiations with pharmaceutical companies within the next 180 days.

The department is expected to compile a list of benchmark prices within the next 30 days. If the manufacturers don’t lower the prices themselves, the Trump administration will attempt to do so through legislation.

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Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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