How are US Regulatory Actions Impacting Pricing?

In early April, President Trump announced plans to impose 100% tariffs on branded pharmaceuticals. However, he also stated that exemptions would be made for pharmaceutical companies that had struck deals with him as part of his most-favored-nation (MFN) initiative.

This move is part of the president’s larger plan to reduce pharmaceutical prices for Americans. While his MFN efforts are targeting how drugs are priced in the US compared to foreign markets, he’s also pressuring pharmaceutical companies to bring more manufacturing to the United States.

While the goal is to reduce the cost burden on US patients, many in the industry are warning that there could be consequences, such as a reduction in innovation and complications for global launches. Dr. Stella Vnook, chair and acting CEO of Kaida BioPharma, spoke with Pharmaceutical Executive about the impact of MFN and other regulatory actions.

Pharmaceutical Executive: How are US regulatory actions impacting pricing?
Dr. Stella Vnook: I'm still trying to reconcile the IRA, so we have those Medicare price reductions. Then we also have the movement of manufacturing in United States, which is obviously more expensive.

We can have a separate debate about, China versus US for manufacturing and the impact to innovation. Then obviously, we have the HR 7837, and MFN. So again, two separate things are happening.

We also have the reduction in NIH funding that's been pretty much stale for the last six months. All of that has created a pretty drastic situation for a lot of startups, and that's the world that I live in and represent.