synopsis

Saynor told Reuters that the proposal, put forth by Novartis and Sanofi in a letter to the Financial Times on Wednesday, overlooks the structural drivers of high drug prices in the United States and will not address global pricing inequities.

Sandoz CEO Richard Saynor has reportedly stated that the proposal to introduce a Europe-wide list price for new medicines is "deeply flawed."

Saynor told Reuters that the proposal, put forth by Novartis and Sanofi in a letter to the Financial Times on Wednesday, overlooks the structural drivers of high drug prices in the United States and will not address global pricing inequities.

"It made me smile, made me laugh," Saynor said of the proposal.

Sanofi and Novartis, in a proposal submitted last week, alleged that European price controls on medicines hinder innovation and proposed a Europe-wide list price for new medicines within the range of U.S. net prices.

Saynor believes that the Trump administration will drive down prices for brand-name medicines. Some form of U.S. price reform, he said, is inevitable.  However, big pharmaceutical companies should not hike prices in Europe to compensate, he added.

U.S. patients have long borne a disproportionate share of costs for innovative medicines, while large drugmakers maintain high margins, the Sandoz CEO argued, citing Amgen’s autoimmune treatment Enbrel, which costs $70,000 per patient per year in the U.S. compared to $7,000 per patient in Europe.

Switzerland-based Sandoz makes generic and biosimilar drugs, which are also sold in the U.S.

The company's North America President, Keren Haruvi, has been meeting with White House officials nearly every week to discuss pharmaceutical imports and the U.S. reliance on foreign drug production, Saynor said, according to Reuters.

Sandoz could be forced to withdraw some products from the U.S. market if significant tariffs are imposed, he added.

Earlier this month, Sandoz filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amgen, Inc., (AMGN), alleging that the latter is blocking competition to its drug Enbrel by unlawfully purchasing certain patent rights.

Sandoz’s Erelzi is a biosimilar of Amgen’s Enbrel, a medicine used to treat a range of inflammatory diseases.

Sandoz alleged that Amgen blocked competition from more cost-effective biosimilar competitors, including Erelzi, which received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016, using certain patent rights to entrench its position in the market.

Many Americans could benefit from the cost savings and expanded access resulting from the introduction of high-quality, more affordable biosimilar options, the company said.

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