Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was refreshing and reassuring. After all, that oh-so familiar routine of phone calls, online meetings, and lengthening to-do lists has returned with a vengeance. But what can you do? The world, such as it is, continues to spin. So time to give it a nudge in a better direction. Toward that end, we are brewing a cup of stimulation and our choice today is butter pecan. Please feel free to join us. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits. Best of luck, today, and do keep in touch. …
On Saturday, President Trump ordered import taxes on goods from Canada, China, and Mexico, a move that could raise costs for consumers across the economy, including in health care, STAT writes. China is a large and growing producer of pharmaceutical ingredients, and prices could go up for finished drugs if costs for their ingredients increase. Mexico is the top source of medical devices used in the U.S., according to industry group AdvaMed. Any price increases could eventually be cushioned if manufacturers move more production to the U.S. or other countries not subject to the extra taxes. Marta Wosińska, a senior fellow in economic studies at The Brookings Institution, said tariffs could cause more shortages of generic drugs with thin profit margins if manufacturers cannot raise prices. The reason is that companies could face penalties for raising prices too quickly in some government programs, and because they may have long-term contracts with group purchasing organizations, which buy drugs and medical equipment for hospitals. This would reverse progress toward curbing drug shortages.
AstraZeneca scrapped plans to invest $558.3 million in its vaccine manufacturing plant in northern England, citing a cut in U.K. government support, Reuters notes. The decision to ditch the development of an existing facility in the Speke area of Liverpool comes at a time when Prime Minister Keir Starmer is pushing hard to drum up investment to generate economic growth. Just days earlier, finance minister Rachel Reeves named AstraZeneca as one of the “great companies” she said were delivering jobs and investment across the country. Her speech, focused on how to get the country’s stagnant economy growing again, set out the importance of attracting investment, and said the government was “determined to make Britain the best place in the world to invest.” A spokesperson for AstraZeneca, which also plans to spend nearly $250 million to expand its existing Cambridge presence, said the Liverpool site would continue to produce flu vaccines. Over the past year, the company has set out billions of dollars worth of investment in various countries, from Singapore and Thailand, to France, Canada, and the U.S.
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