US, UK expected to agree on zero-tariffs pharmaecuticals deal, UK Times says

The U.K. is close to securing a major pharmaceuticals agreement with Washington that would eliminate U.S. import tariffs on medicines and is expected to raise NHS drug spending, Richard Fletcher and Alex Ralph of the U.K. Times report. As part of the deal, the government is understood to have accepted lower industry rebate rates and adjustments to the NHS’s cost-effectiveness criteria after months of difficult negotiations. Publicly traded companies in the space include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY).