Aussie pharma stocks drop on Trump’s promise to cut drug prices by up to 80%

Some of the ASX’s best-known pharmaceutical companies – including Neuren, Telix and Clarity – have reported losses on Monday, after Donald Trump announced a plan to cut prescriptions drug prices by up to 80% via an executive order.

The impact of Trump’s announcement – made on Truth Social on Sunday – could be observed in general terms, with Health Care being the worst performing sector on the ASX, down 1.17% on a mixed trading day.

Unsurprisingly, a cluster of companies followed the trend, with Neuren Pharmaceuticals, Telix Pharmaceuticals and Clarity Pharmaceuticals being noted as some of the bourse’s worst-performing stocks early on in the session, dropping 8.05%, 8.04% and 7.20% respectively by 14:25 AEST.

In his social media post, Trump said he wanted to bring prescription drug prices in the United States into line with those in other high-income countries, and promised he would sign an executive order to that effect on Monday.

Although he did not provide much detail about how the pricing would be shifted, the President said his policy would drive towards a ‘most favored nation’ framework, with prices to drop by between 30% and 80%.

“They will rise throughout the World in order to equalize and, for the first time in many years, bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA!” he said.

“I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World.”

As it is now, customers in the US pay the highest prices in the world for many prescription drugs.

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