Novartis CEO warns reality of Trump's drug pricing policy will set in over 'the next 18 months'

Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan warned that Trump's Most Favored Nation (MFN) drug pricing policy will have significant long-term implications over the next 18 months, creating a "very difficult situation" for drugmakers and patients. The MFN policy ties U.S. drug prices to those in other wealthy countries, and Narasimhan cautioned that without European and Japanese governments quickly changing how they reward innovation, novel medicines may see delayed market entry and patients could lose access to drugs. Currently, the MFN policy impacts only 5-10% of Novartis's Medicaid sales, but the CEO expressed concern that European governments have awareness but lack full realization of the policy's broader impact.