The chief executive of AstraZeneca has warned that the drugmaker could be forced to withhold new medicines in the UK and Europe if it did not secure higher prices, given the terms of its agreement with the Trump administration to lower costs for US patients.
Sir Pascal Soriot told the FT that European countries would have to spend more on innovative medicines or the Anglo-Swedish group would be left with no choice but to focus almost exclusively on the US market where it draws nearly half of its revenues.
“It’s sad and it’s heartbreaking but we would have no choice. I have to take care of patients but I also have to take care of our shareholders and generating enough revenue so we can reinvest in our R&D and invest in new medicines,” Soriot told the FT in an interview.