Irish-based pharma giants warn EU of €100bn investment threat over US tariffs

Signed by companies including Ireland-headquartered giants such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and MSD, the letter warns that EU member states were at risk of losing out from an industry 'exodus'. Picture: Dan Linehan

Major pharmaceutical companies have warned the European Commission that they may divert up to €100bn they had planned to invest in Europe to the US and elsewhere.

Signed by companies including Ireland-based giants such as Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and MSD, the letter warns that EU member states were at risk of losing out from an industry “exodus” as firms were looking to increase manufacturing capacity elsewhere, the Irish Times has reported.

In the letter, sent last week to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, the companies warn of a looming crisis due to the threatened trade war between the US and the EU.

US President Donald Trump has said he expects to impose tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals in the near future.

The companies also asked the EU to simplify regulations, noting that companies currently must conduct multi-country clinical trials for drugs, the letter said.

The industry also said in the letter that it takes issue with a fee the sector will soon need to pay to treat wastewater from micropollutants, French publication Les Echos said.

For a decade "the innovative industry has entirely reimbursed the increase in expenses linked to innovative medicines," the letter said, according to Les Echos.

"We hope to work together in the coming weeks to ensure that these proposals become reality to the benefit of Europe's patients and economic development," the letter added.

It comes as the latest figures from the CSO showed that Irish exports of pharmaceutical and medical products skyrocketed in February as the threat of US tariffs loomed.

EY Ireland chief economist Dr Loretta O’Sullivan said these figures, following similar spikes in January, “bears all the hallmarks of a pre-emptive strike”. She said:

Ireland’s significant trade linkages with the US mean businesses here are particularly exposed to transatlantic barriers, prompting them to get inventory into the American market as fast as possible. We’ll be closely watching to see if this trend continues in March.

Last week, European pharmaceutical companies warned von der Leyen in a meeting that US tariffs would hasten the industry's shift toward the United States and from Europe.

The US is the biggest market by sales for big pharma companies, and Europe and the US interconnected supply chains for medicines. EU medical and pharmaceutical product exports to the United States totalled about €90bn ($101.49bn) in 2023, according to Eurostat.

European pharmaceutical giants have recently been expanding production facilities in the United States.

With reporting from Reuters