Pharmaceutical Stocks Tumble on Trump Plan to Cut US Drug Prices

Shares of pharmaceutical companies fell across the world after US President Donald Trump said he planned to order a cut in US prescription drug costs to bring them in line with other countries, prompting concern that profits will take a hit.

European drugmakers including Novo Nordisk A/S, AstraZeneca Plc and Roche Holding AG slid, missing out on a broader rally, while in Asia, the pharmaceuticals subgroup in Japan’s Topix Index posted its biggest one-day loss since August. Shares in US drugmakers were also weaker, with Eli Lilly & Co., Pfizer Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Merck & Co. Inc. all down in premarket trading in New York.