Vas Narasimhan, chief government officer of Novartis AG, throughout an announcement within the Roosevelt Room of the White Home in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025.
Will Oliver | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
Novartis‘ CEO warned Tuesday that the U.S. drug pricing coverage below President Donald Trump poses a “very tough state of affairs” and the truth will quickly meet up with each drugmakers and sufferers.
“The longer-term implications are important,” CEO Vas Narasimhan informed CNBC’s Carolin Roth. “The fact of MFN goes to set in within the subsequent 18 months.”
Novartis is targeted on getting European and Japanese governments to shortly change how they reward innovation, he mentioned, including that if this does not occur, then novel medicines may see delayed entry into these markets and sufferers will not have entry to the medication.
Essentially the most favored nation drug pricing coverage, or MFN, applied by Trump final yr signifies that costs within the massive and profitable U.S. market are tied to costs in comparably rich international locations. Trump has made decrease drug costs for People a precedence and has lengthy criticized what he calls “international nations freeloading on American-financed innovation.”
Narasimhan’s feedback echo different drugmakers who’ve lamented Europe’s fragmented markets, crimson tape, and pricing insurance policies.
Roche and AstraZeneca are among the many firms which have not too long ago flagged dangers to European international locations of lacking out on new medication except they tackle the decrease spending on medicines and unfavorable insurance policies.
“We’ll be in a state of affairs the place we will need to make tough trade-offs,” Narasimhan mentioned, including that he hopes to seek out different options for sufferers to entry crucial medicines.
MFN’s impact on Novartis high and backside line continues to be restricted because it at present primarily impacts about 5-10% of gross sales within the Medicaid phase, Narasimhan informed CNBC.
Whereas there are “good early discussions” with European governments, there’s nonetheless not sufficient motion being taken, he added. “There’s consciousness, however I nonetheless suppose there’s not a realization of the extent of impression that is coming.”
Earlier this month, Germany introduced a proposal to chop prices in its nationwide well being system to sort out a looming multi-billion-euro funding hole, together with by introducing steeper reductions on patented medication.
“We have seen latest strikes, for example, by the German authorities, who truly go within the fallacious course. And in order that could be very regarding,” mentioned Narasimhan.
“These governments are going to need to now actually take this severely, as a result of the [MFN] coverage is ready, and I do not see it disappearing in the US.”
Earnings miss
Novartis additionally reported its first quarterly gross sales decline in over two years on Tuesday, as generic competitors weighed on the drugmaker’s high line.
Shares fell 2.9% in morning buying and selling in Zurich.
The Swiss firm posted first-quarter gross sales of $13.1 billion, beneath the $13.5 billion anticipated by analysts polled by FactSet and reflecting a 1% decline year-on-year. Gross sales declined by 5% on a continuing forex foundation.
Earnings per share got here in at $1.65, down 10% year-on-year.
The miss was pushed by faster-than-expected generic erosion of the corporate’s best-selling medicines Entresto, Promacta, and Tasigna, which every missed by between 7% and 17%, based on Citi analysts. The gross sales decline was solely partially offset by the expansion of newer medicines like breast most cancers remedy Kisqali and a number of sclerosis drug Kesimpta.
Gross sales of coronary heart drug Entresto fell 42% after its U.S. patent expired. It faces lack of exclusivities in Europe later this yr.
“We guided to a primary half that was going to be difficult — we knew these generics had been coming. It is truly the largest lack of exclusivity in Novartis’ historical past,” Narasimhan mentioned.
Novartis has guided for a pickup in development over the second half of the yr.
