By Kosaku Narioka
Shares of Asia drugmakers fell on Monday after President Trump said he would sign an executive order aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs.
Among Japanese drugmakers, many of which generate significant parts of their revenue in the U.S., share of Daiichi Sankyo were recently down 5.5%. Otsuka Holdings was 3.7% lower and Roche Holding's Japanese unit, Chugai Pharmaceutical, was down 6.0%.
Revenue from the U.S. made up about a third of Daiichi Sankyo's total revenue for the fiscal year ended March. At Otsuka's pharmaceutical business, North America accounted for about a half of revenue in 2024.
In Seoul, Daewoong Pharmaceutical was trading 4.6% lower, while Samsung Biologics fell 3.5% and Celltrion was down 3.7%.
Pharma stocks were broadly weaker in China too, with BeiGene down 6.2% and Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine off by 2.9%. In Hong Kong, WuXi Biologics shed 4.1% and Hansoh Pharmaceutical lost 2.95%.
President Trump on Sunday said he would be instituting a policy known as "Most Favored Nation," wherein the U.S. government pays prices for drugs that are tied to the prices paid by other countries.
Many other countries pay lower prices for medications because their single-payer healthcare systems negotiate for deals.
Trump didn't specify whether the order would apply to Medicare, Medicaid or other government programs. He said he would sign the order Monday.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 11, 2025 22:01 ET (02:01 GMT)
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