Cambridge-based AstraZeneca has added its voice to mounting calls for the European Union to invest more heavily in its pharmaceutical sector, as escalating trade tensions with the United States threaten to pull innovation and manufacturing across the Atlantic.
Sir Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s chief executive, warned that Europe is falling behind the US in spending on innovative medicines and could lose its health sovereignty if it does not act. His remarks come amid increasing fears that Donald Trump, who has re-emerged as a central figure in the upcoming US election, may impose steep tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, removing exemptions that currently shield drugmakers.
Speaking publicly on Wednesday, Sir Pascal said: “The world order is shifting right now and Europe needs to invest more in what really matters to it. Europe has stepped up to invest more in defence and now it must protect its health sovereignty.”
He likened the urgency of healthcare investment to the EU’s response to recent reductions in US military support for Ukraine, suggesting the pharmaceutical sector should receive the same priority as national defence.
Pharma Industry Rallies Against Tariff Threats
The warning from AstraZeneca comes as part of a wider campaign by pharmaceutical leaders to urge Brussels to reassess its approach to drug pricing. In a letter sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in April, more than 30 global pharmaceutical firms—including GSK and Bayer—called for the EU to raise medicine prices and boost public spending on healthcare innovation.
The letter pointed out that the EU’s share of global pharmaceutical spending has fallen sharply, from nearly 30% in 2004 to less than 23% today, while the US has increased its share to over 53%. It also highlighted the widening gap in healthcare investment: the EU spent just 7% of GDP on healthcare in 2023, compared to the US’s 17.6%.
Executives warned that continued trade tensions and sluggish investment risk driving more research and manufacturing to the US and other faster-moving markets. Companies including Roche and Novartis have already announced major expansion plans in the US, spurred by the Biden and Trump administrations’ pressure on domestic production.
Trump’s recent appointment of vaccine-sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as health secretary and his push for lower US drug prices through executive orders have further unsettled the industry. European companies now fear being caught in a global pharmaceutical power shift—unless urgent changes are made at home.
