The heads of 32 pharmaceutical companies have written to the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen saying that EU states including Ireland could miss out on planned investment of €100 billion because of trade wars tariffs, demanding support and regulation change to stay in Europe.
The letter was signed by chief executives of pharmaceutical giants including several based in Ireland, such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and MSD, and warned of “exodus” without a more favourable framework, Les Echos reported.
The April 11th letter was also signed by the CEOs of Amgen, AstraZeneca, Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Merck & Co., Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, according to a copy obtained by Fierce Pharma.
They warned of the exodus of €100 billion in pharma investment by 2029 to to the U.S. unless Europe implements “rapid, radical” policy changes – including the EU scrapping plans to reduce the time companies have to sell new drugs to the market before cheaper generic competitors can enter.
They also argued that pharmaceutical companies should not have to contribute to the cost of urban waste water treatment, which they they have described as a “disproportionate” burden.
“We look forward to working together in the days and weeks to come to ensure we can transform these proposals into reality for the benefit of Europe’s patients and its economic development,” the companies said in the letter.
Concerns regarding tariffs on pharmaceutical products and medicines have not abated, and it is expected that President Tump will introduce same in the coming weeks, though the EU Commission is lobbying Washington for a deal re same.