Trump’s drug pricing deals pressure Europe’s life sciences sector

Europe is facing increasing pressure to create a more favorable market for the life sciences sector as the Trump administration continues its push for drugmakers to invest in the U.S.

Washington announced nine more deals with pharmaceutical companies to lower certain drug prices on Monday evening, bringing to 26 the total number of agreements.

These so-called most-favored-nation deals aim to compel companies to launch new medicines in the United States at prices similar to those in Europe, while avoiding some tariffs. They also commit firms to invest in new facilities in America, with at least $19.6 billion pledged so far, the White House said.

Industry leaders in Europe warn that if the U.S. continues to sign more deals with companies — designed to drive down prices for American citizens while boosting U.S. investments — European patients will feel the effects.

Since the most-favored nation policy will see Washington copy some EU countries’ prices, companies are opting not to launch new drugs in Europe to maintain higher prices in the U.S. where they can make bigger profits. In addition, companies are increasingly choosing America for research and manufacturing.

“Companies may hesitate to launch in Europe or in Japan or Canada if they think that the price in Europe or Japan or Canada will be lower than the price they could obtain in the U.S.,” Adrian van den Hoven, director general of Medicines for Europe, told POLITICO. “That's the risk for Europe going forward.” Medicines for Europe represents the generics industry, which largely makes cheaper off-patent medicines. Two large generics firms that also make branded drugs were included in the nine new deals.

Meanwhile, Europe’s current biggest offering to entice industry to stay local — a proposed patent extension for certain biotech drugs — is too little too late, some argue. Industry says the patent extension comes with too many conditions and it won’t come into effect in time to stop the sector from pivoting more to America where market conditions are more favorable.

The patent extension and other industry perks in the proposed Biotech Act are a step in the right direction, said Alexander Natz, secretary general of the European Confederation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs. But “it’s probably too late if we wait for the Biotech Act” to take effect, likely in a couple of years, he said.

Capturing more companies

The latest deals mark a shift away from the previous 17 deals with multi-billion dollar big pharmaceutical companies and include a mix from small specialist firms with only a handful of licensed drugs to vast generic drugmakers.

The new agreements show that the most-favored-nation policy “has entered a new phase, now explicitly involving mid-sized pharmaceutical companies,” Natz said. EUCOPE represents small and mid-sized biotech and pharma companies.

The deals link drug pricing with trade and manufacturing commitments, he said.

“For Europe, the implications therefore go well beyond individual medicine prices. They potentially affect patient access, launch and investment decisions, and ultimately where innovation and manufacturing take place,” Natz said.

“As the U.S. approach continues to evolve, Europe needs to follow these developments closely and maintain an active dialogue with industry.”

Over to EU

Drug pricing decisions in Europe are taken nationally as opposed to by the EU. Nonetheless, the European Commission controls many of the market conditions for the sector, from patent durations to clinical trials regulations and marketing authorizations.

Eva Hrncirova, a spokesperson for the European Commission, said Tuesday that they “closely monitor the implementation of the U.S. most-favored-nation policy and any potential effects on the European market.”

“Our priority is obviously to ensure that patients get timely access to safe, effective and affordable medicines.”

A European Commission analysis — done at the request of EU health ministers — states that it is too early to tell what effect U.S. President Donald Trump’s drug pricing policies will have on medicine launches and prices in Europe.

Diederik Stadig, a health care economist at Dutch bank ING, however said there have already been fewer drug launch applications to the European Medicines Agency in the first four months of 2026.

“The initial picture is [fewer] launches in Europe, and still high prices in the United States. So for American patients, the upside to these policies is very limited,” he said.

EU vs. the capitals

Trump wants European countries to pay more for drugs, arguing the U.S. subsidizes lower drug prices in Europe. Only the U.K. has agreed to pay more for medicines.

Faced with the growing pressure from the U.S. and pharma companies, the EU and countries are increasingly working together to show a united front in maintaining strict price controls. Some are urging fellow member countries not to fall into the temptation of bilateral deals like the U.K.

But drug pricing is only part of the equation, Stadig said.

“If Europe were to double its medicine prices, that would do little for the attractiveness of Europe because Europe faces a fundamental issue that’s different than just price.”

Europe struggles with a fragmented drug pricing model and has a big “commercialization gap,” Stadig said, where world-leading science in Europe eventually leads to market launches outside of the bloc.

For Nathalie Moll, director general of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, it’s European countries that need to invest in making the bloc more attractive.

“Europe’s ability to safeguard patient access to innovative medicines is closely linked to market conditions and its wider trade, industrial and competitiveness policies,” she said, calling on EU governments to invest in market reforms.

But there doesn’t seem enough urgency to act, Stadig added.