Media365
Drugs are part of a broad range of imported goods that Trump took aim at on Thursday, including kitchen cabinets and heavy duty trucks. The new duties would take effect on October 1, he said.
The proposed tariffs are “not a big concern” for Chinese drug makers, as these firms have “minimal drug sales exposure to the US”, analysts at US investment bank Jefferies wrote in a research note titled “Tariffs Barely Dent China’s Healthcare Powerhouses” published on Friday.
Most Chinese biotech firms, or pre-commercialisation drug developers, have expanded their market reach in the US in recent years through licensing deals with multinational pharmaceutical companies. They have US partners and are “immune” to tariffs, according to Jefferies.
These firms are protected because they are still “at least one to two years away from potential US commercialisation”. Their revenue comes from royalties instead of direct drug sales, Jefferies said.
