As biopharma companies continue to roll out their first-quarter earnings, Trump administration tariffs remain at the top of investors’ minds. While executives offer their various strategies to appease concerns, the uncertainty prevails, making it difficult to clearly satisfy all of the questions.
Ongoing policy issues in the U.S., including the Inflation Reduction Act and recent proposals under President Donald Trump’s administration, have wide ranging implications for the global biopharmaceutical industry, speakers at Bio Korea 2025 said May 8, including a heightened need for all biotechs to draft regulatory strategies.
South Korean government and biopharmaceutical industry representatives urged American policymakers May 7 to refrain from imposing tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, and to spare allies if pharma tariffs are deemed necessary. Both Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare on May 4 and the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization on May 6 submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Commerce in response to its ongoing investigation of pharmaceutical imports.
In an ongoing effort to onshore more of the biopharma supply chain, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) late May 5 to shorten the time involved in bringing a new manufacturing plant or expansion online and to remove some of the incentives for foreign production of finished drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
April data and first quarter earnings reports show remarkable resilience in med tech, even as other sectors continue to suffer in response to tariffs and changing regulations. Not that tariffs proved insignificant: several companies reported annualized impacts north of half a billion dollars, but fundamentals and increased interest in med tech as a haven gave most players sufficient breathing room to absorb the impact with minimal adjustments.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) spoke to an industry meeting in Washington and expressed concerns about the situation at the U.S. FDA, but she also blasted the tariffs put in place by the Trump administration as lacking the proper statutory authority.
The Trump administration’s tariff activities provoked another set of responses from both Medtech Europe and the Advanced Medical Technology Association.
Tightening of U.S. regulation and capital is leading Chinese biotechs to alternative and new models of financing, ranging from cross-border licensing deals, M&As, the so-called newco model and overseas listings.
First quarter earnings reports from Edwards Lifesciences Corp., Intuitive Surgical Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp. support trends seen earlier: Larger med-tech companies expect substantial tariff hits, but also have confidence that they can absorb the impact with fairly minor adjustments.
Tightening of U.S. regulation and capital is leading Chinese biotechs to alternative and new models of financing, ranging from cross-border licensing deals, M&As, the so-called newco model and overseas listings.
