Germany risks missing out on new drugs, AstraZeneca CEO tells paper

FRANKFURT, April 21 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's ‌CEO told daily ​Handelsblatt ​on Tuesday that Germany risks missing out on new drugs that the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker plans to launch if ‌the nation sticks with plans to keep spending on pharmaceuticals ⁠in check.

“When we can't launch some of those products, it's really a problem," ‌he was quoted as saying ‌by the newspaper. "It's going to be very hard for us, we're going to be attacked, but in the end we will have ​no choice, also because of the pressure in the U.S.”

Germany's coalition government last week announced a raft of measures to overhaul ⁠the statutory health insurance system to reduce a looming funding gap by 20 billion euros.

Under ​the proposals, an existing mandatory discount on patented drugs could become steeper under a variable mechanism that depends ​on overall drug expenditures and on contributions ‌paid.

"The proposed regulation is a dangerous backward step," said Soriot.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing to ⁠lower the cost of prescription drugs in the United States, which has traditionally paid significantly more than other wealthy countries. He has sought to tie ⁠the cost for Americans to what is paid elsewhere, including in Europe, known ​as most-favoured-nation pricing.

Drugmakers have delayed launches of some new medicines in Europe in response to the U.S. pressure, a Reuters report showed last month.

“It's really not ‌a threat. If you look at the mathematics, you realize that the business impact is so big, ‌we have no choice," Soriot was quoted as saying.

He warned that Europe ⁠overall was at risk of ‌becoming a place for ​sales offices for the industry and no longer for research, development and manufacturing.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Editing by ‌Louise Heavens)

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