Comments overnight from President-elect Donald Trump about his determination to bring down pharmaceutical drug pricing in the U.S. have sent shares in Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (ASX: MYX) down 3% to $1.28 in morning trade today.
Speaking at his first news conference since his election the bombastic Mr. Trump claimed the pharmaceutical industry was "getting away with murder" in reference to the prices it charges the U.S. government and citizens under the Medicare health insurance scheme and elsewhere.
Mr Trump claimed under his administration the U.S. government would save "billions of dollars" over an unspecified period of time, which spells bad news for companies like Mayne Pharma as it has recently taken a huge bet on the U.S. drugs market by paying US$652 million for a portfolio of North American generic drug products.
Under the U.S. Medicare scheme the government will meet part of the costs for prescription or ordinary drugs required for citizens that could have coverage as, among others, seniors, military veterans, the disabled, or as ordinary subscribers to plans provided by insurance companies.
In response to Trump's comments U.S. biotech stocks dropped around 3% and although Mayne Pharma has the most exposure to pharmaceutical drug pricing in the U.S. it's not the only business that could suffer if the Trump administration reins in its spending on healthcare reimbursements.
Elsewhere, Australia's leading biotechnology business CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) has dropped 1.3% today, while early-stage regenerative medicine business Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) has lost 4.3%. If Mesoblast were to ever bring any of its products to market in the U.S. then reimbursement rates would likely have to be negotiated with the government.
