The US government has announced a deal with the pharmaceutical giants. The most important questions and answers.
December 23, 2025, 09:03December 23, 2025, 09:03
Florence Vuichard / ch media
On Friday, another nine pharmaceutical companies committed to lowering their drug prices in the USA. US President Donald Trump was visibly satisfied when the pre-Christmas deal was announced in the White House and emphasized the great progress he had allegedly made in the fight against high drug prices in the USA. And he praised the pharmaceutical managers present, such as Novartis boss Vasant Narasimhan and Ashley Magargee, the head of Roche subsidiary Genentech, for showing understanding for his demands. “They love our country.”
Donald Trump messes up the medicine box. (symbol image)Image: KEYSTONE
But what consequences does the deal have for Switzerland, for the local pharmaceutical industry, patients and premium payers?
What exactly did Roche and Novartis promise?
According to the announcement published by the White House, Roche and its US subsidiary Genentech will reduce the price of the flu drug Xofluza from today’s $168 to $50. This corresponds to a price reduction of a good 70 percent. Novartis, in turn, wants to reduce the price of the multiple sclerosis drug Mayzent by almost 90 percent from $9,987 to $1,137. However, the reductions only apply to patients who buy the medicines via the TrumpRx platform launched by the US President.
In addition, there are further discounts on medications sold through the state’s Medicaid and Medicare programs for those in need.
How much do the discounts hurt?
Given their annual sales of around 60 billion francs (Roche) and 50 billion dollars (Novartis), the losses for the two Swiss pharmaceutical companies are likely to be marginal. “Finanz und Wirtschaft” speaks of “peanuts”: Roche earned 32 million francs with Xofluza in the USA in the first nine months, while in the same period the company generated 18.8 billion francs in sales with its pharmaceutical division in the USA alone.
In other words: The discounts do not affect the blockbusters from Roche and Novartis, but rather drugs that are less important in terms of sales.
The shares of the two companies reacted positively on Friday in the run-up to the announcement – and did not suffer any major losses on Monday.
Donald Trump and “his” pharmaceutical bosses in the White House on Friday. Also present were Novartis boss Vasant Narasimhan (2nd from left) and the boss of Roche subsidiary Genentech, Ashley Magargee (right of Trump).Image: Pool
So much ado about nothing?
No. Trump has certainly wrested concessions from the pharmaceutical companies. Given the expectations he raised, the result is rather manageable. But he is likely to keep the pressure on drug prices high in the future and, when launching new drugs, ensure that companies in the USA do not set higher prices than in other industrialized countries.
Accordingly, the pharmaceutical companies will try to set drug prices as high as possible in the eight comparison countries – specifically Denmark, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Canada and Switzerland. Because: The higher the prices are in these countries, the higher they are in the USA, the most important market for the pharmaceutical industry.
Are drug prices now rising in Switzerland?
No. At least not immediately. But soon, if the pharmaceutical industry has its way. Roche boss Thomas Schinecker admitted in an interview with the “Sonntagszeitung” that the deal would “initially” have no consequences because the agreements would not apply retroactively. “The therapies that are currently on the market would not become more expensive.” But in the future, prices will have to rise, “not from one day to the next,” but “gradually with every new launch over the next few years.”
Schineker emphasizes that the countries chosen by the US should “pay a price based on their wealth and purchasing power”. “In the case of Switzerland this would be more, in the case of Italy less than in the USA.” This would mean that all economies would make a comparable contribution to investments in relation to their purchasing power in order to develop a new therapy.
Are drug prices now rising in Switzerland?
In this country – as in the other comparison countries – the prices of medications that are covered by compulsory basic insurance are regulated by the state. These prices are now determined based on three criteria: effectiveness (medical benefit), practicality (clinical relevance) and cost-effectiveness (cost-benefit ratio). A foreign price comparison is also included, which includes states with high purchasing power and states with comparable pharmaceutical locations.
These are Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria and Sweden. “Purchasing power is therefore taken into account when setting prices in Switzerland by comparing foreign prices with countries with high purchasing power,” states the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) upon request. In addition, Switzerland “already reimburses the highest prices and costs for medicines in Europe”.
According to the BAG, price regulation in Switzerland is independent of US drug prices. Drug prices in the USA have “no direct impact” on Switzerland because prices from the USA are not taken into account when setting prices in Switzerland. Switzerland continues to set its drug prices independently.
Are Swiss health insurance premiums increasing because of Donald Trump?
Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider is against this: “Premium payers in Switzerland cannot and do not have to pay for price reductions in the USA with their health insurance premiums,” the Health Minister repeatedly promises. However, the Federal Council is working together with the pharmaceutical industry to further improve conditions in Switzerland, particularly with regard to market access, clinical research and through regulated relations with the EU.
Former Federal Councilor Elisabeth Vaume-Schneider.Image: keystone
Roche boss Schinecker, of course, does not see his industry as responsible for any premium increases. “Switzerland would not solve its problem of health care costs, which total over 100 billion francs,” even if it no longer paid anything for innovative medicines on which 3.5 billion were spent.”
The 100 billion cited by Schinecker as a reference figure includes total health spending. However, the costs of compulsory health insurance are crucial for health insurance premiums. These amount to “only” a good 42 billion francs.
Medicines are responsible for 22 percent of expenses and are one of the largest cost blocks at a good 9.2 billion francs. Compared to this, the 3.5 billion francs mentioned by Schinecker are no longer that little. “It is the newly launched therapies that are driving up the premiums,” said the outgoing CSS boss Philomena Colatrella to the “Tages-Anzeiger”.
US dispute over drug prices has an impact on Switzerland. (symbol image)Image: Getty
What happens if drug prices are not increased in Switzerland?
This is difficult to estimate. But the pharmaceutical industry has long criticized the BAG’s “one-sided view of costs”. “This worsens the supply situation,” said René Buholzer, head of the Interpharma industry association, recently in an interview with CH Media. “Unfortunately, we have also reached a point where companies are already withdrawing medicines from the Swiss market because the price has reached an unacceptably low level.” The federal government must restore the balance between quality, security of supply and costs.
Buholzer does not want his statements to be understood as a threat. But: “We have to say what’s going on. If prices fall, at some point it will no longer be worthwhile for a company to offer the drug. Then it will disappear from the market. Or not introduced at all.”