Europe at 'critical' juncture as Trump drug pricing policy curbs new medicine launches

Europe faces a defining test of its ability to secure access to the latest innovative medicines, the head of the European Medicines Agency has warned, as US pricing policy pushes drugmakers to rethink where, when and at what price they bring new therapies to market.

Emer Cooke, executive director of the EMA, told the Reuters Pharma Europe 2026 conference in Barcelona on Wednesday that the pharmaceutical industry was "at a very critical point", with US policy reshaping decisions far beyond pricing itself. "Everybody's struggling with what the impacts of the US policy on pricing will be. And that's not just on pricing, it's on where you do your clinical trials, where you market, where you launch," she said, calling for closer co-operation between European regulators and member states.

The number of new drug launches in Europe has fallen by more than a third since President Donald Trump introduced his "most-favoured-nation" pricing executive order in May 2025, according to industry data cited at the conference. The policy seeks to cut US medicine prices by benchmarking them against the lower prices paid in other wealthy countries, including in Europe — a linkage that has prompted drugmakers to either push for higher European prices or delay European launches altogether, to protect pricing in the much more profitable US market.

"MFN is creating a huge hesitation to launch here in Europe if it exposes price in the US, which, of course, is the major driver of profit for the entire industry," said Bill Coyle, global head of biopharma at consulting firm ZS.

Cooke's intervention highlights the growing unease in Brussels about Europe's ability to compete with the US and China for pharmaceutical investment. Industry leaders have argued that lower prices, regulatory complexity and weaker innovation incentives have left the continent increasingly marginalised as a destination for clinical research and new product launches. Cooke said she had met senior industry executives at the EMA last week to discuss how the regulator could support innovation and accelerate market entry, and pointed to reforms already in train, including updated pharmaceutical legislation that provides for joint EU procurement of newly approved drugs and a new life sciences strategy focused on competitiveness.

Europe remains the world's second-largest pharmaceutical market and benefits from universal healthcare coverage, giving it "a very strong place in terms of access", Cooke said. She urged the bloc to make more aggressive use of collective procurement negotiations among member states — a lever seen in Brussels as one of the EU's sharper instruments for extracting value from global drugmakers.

Cooke also confirmed that the EMA was nearing a decision on the first of a new wave of oral weight-loss drugs, saying the conclusion of its review would come "very soon" and likely ahead of the northern hemisphere summer. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the two dominant forces in the obesity market, have each secured US clearance for oral formulations expected to launch this year, expanding a lucrative franchise that has until now been dominated by injectable therapies.

The shift in Washington is also beginning to reshape transatlantic talent flows. Cooke said the upheaval at the US Food and Drug Administration under the Trump administration had begun to push some scientific expertise across the Atlantic, with Europe "getting some already — quietly". While the EMA's relationship with the FDA remained strong, she said leadership changes in Washington had forced the European regulator to build fresh working relationships with its US counterparts.

Cooke also addressed persistent drug shortages across the bloc and the challenge of integrating artificial intelligence into regulatory processes, stressing the importance of human oversight and maintaining the judgement required for regulatory decisions.