Roche CEO says drug prices in Switzerland to get higher in future, Reuters says

Roche (RHHBY) CEO Thomas Schinecker said the deals between pharmaceutical companies and Washington to reduce medicine prices in the U.S. will likely lead to an increase in drug prices in Switzerland, Reuters reports. Schinecker stated drugs already available in Switzerland would not become more expensive, but future prices would follow the new system, leading to an increase in cost. “For Switzerland, this would mean more; for Italy, less than in the U.S. All economies would make a relatively comparable contribution to investments needed for developing new therapies. Prices won’t change overnight, but I’d expect it to happen gradually with each new launch over the coming years,” Schinecker said, according to Reuters.