Pharma Pushes For Higher European Drug Prices, Trump Or No Trump

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) US President Donald Trump's plan to align US drug prices with those in peer countries is expected to have less impact than originally intended. That hasn't stopped pharma companies from calling for higher prices and wider reforms in Europe, including Switzerland. An analysis. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: Pharma pushes for higher European drug prices, Trump or no Trump This content was published on October 21, 2026 - 09:00 9 minutes

I report on the Swiss pharmaceutical industry and healthcare topics such as access to medicine, biomedical innovation, and the impact of diseases like cancer. I grew up just outside San Francisco and studied international affairs with a focus on development economics and healthcare policy. Prior to joining SWI swissinfo in 2018, I was a freelance journalist and a researcher on business and human rights.

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Just over a year ago, US President Trump issued an executive orderExternal link calling for US drug prices to align with so-called Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) prices – those paid in other developed countries. On average, Americans pay three to four times as much for brand-name drugs as patients in other wealthy countries, research showsExternal link.

Pharma companies argued that if US prices dropped to levels in peer countries, it would wipe out budgets for research into new drugs.

The simple answer to this problem, Trump concluded, was for peer countries to raise prices and pay what he saw as their fair share of innovation. The US makes up less than 5% of the world population but accountsExternal link for at least half the revenue for most large pharmaceutical companies. The US National Institutes of Health is also the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world.

Companies and industry groups agreed with Trump and warned companies could delay or avoid launching products altogether in peer countries if prices don't rise.

“If Switzerland serves as a benchmark for the US, medicines will only be offered in this country [Switzerland] at prices comparable to those in the US or will not be on the market at all, or with a massive delay,” wroteExternal link the Swiss pharmaceutical association Interpharma back in November 2025.

Switzerland and other MFN reference countries scrambled to respond. Governments faced a dilemma: raise prices amid surging healthcare costs or face worsening access to medicine.

Fast forward

In the last month though it's become clear that MFN's implementation includes a host of exceptions and conditions that limit its scope and impact.

Some 26 pharma companies have signed confidential MFN deals with the US government pledging to adopt drug prices in line with other countries in exchange for immunity from tariffs that could reach as high as 100%.

What we know now is that if companies participate in a voluntary pilot called GENEROUS for Medicaid, the federal insurance programme for low-income individuals, which already receives the lowest prices of US payers, they are exempt from a mandatory MFN pilot for Medicare called GLOBE.

According to rules announcedExternal link on September 30, only four unnamed companies are subject to GLOBE.

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