The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that European and U.S. health care stocks surged on Wednesday, propelled by a deal between Pfizer and U.S. President Donald Trump to lower prescription drug prices in the Medicaid program in exchange for tariff relief. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says the agreement, seen as less punishing than some within the industry had feared, gives hard-hit global drugmakers a degree of clarity after a volatile year during which Mr. Trump has taken aim at the sector over high U.S. medicine prices. The Pfizer deal is expected to break the seal for other agreements as companies look to hand Mr. Trump pricing wins in return for lower tariffs on their drugs to enter the huge U.S. market. "We expect EU pharma to follow suit and negotiate with the Trump administration for exemptions," said Lucy Coutts at JM Finn, which holds shares in GSK, AstraZeneca, Roche and Novo Nordisk. She said this would likely be in the form of investment in U.S. manufacturing and participation in TrumpRX, a website being launched by Mr. Trump for Americans to buy drugs at a discount. Mr. Trump sent letters to 17 leading drug companies in July telling them to slash prices to match those paid overseas.
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