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

novartis ceo vas narasimhan warned tuesday that the reality of trump's most favored nation drug pricing policy will hit within 18 months. he called it a "very difficult situation" for both drugmakers and patients. the mfn policy ties us prices to those in comparably wealthy countries. narasimhan said the policy currently affects about 5-10% of novartis' medicaid sales, so the immediate financial hit is limited. but he's pushing european and japanese governments to change how they reward innovation, warning that novel medicines could see delayed entry if they don't act. he cited germany's recent proposal to cut costs by introducing steeper discounts on patented drugs as a move "in the wrong direction." other drugmakers like roche and astrazeneca have flagged similar risks about europe missing out on new drugs. narasimhan said there are "good early discussions" with european governments but not enough action. "there's awareness, but i still think there's not a realization of the level of impact that's coming."