Pfizer CEO says tariff uncertainty is deterring further U.S. investment in manufacturing, R&D

Pfizer CEO says tariff uncertainty is deterring further U.S. investment in manufacturing, R&D


Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, speaks at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2024. 

Andrew Kelly | Reuters

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Tuesday said uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s planned pharmaceutical tariffs is deterring the company from further investing in U.S. manufacturing and research and development. 

Bourla’s remarks on the company’s first-quarter earnings call came in response to a question about what Pfizer wants to see from tariff negotiations that would push the company to increase investments in the U.S. It comes as drugmakers brace for Trump’s levies on pharmaceuticals imported into the country – his administration’s bid to boost domestic manufacturing.

“If I know that there will not be tariffs … then there are tremendous investments that can happen in this country, both in R&D and manufacturing,” Bourla said on the call, adding that the company is also hoping for “certainty.”

“In periods of uncertainty, everybody is controlling their cost as we are doing, and then is very frugal with their investment, as we are doing, so that we are prepared for remit. So that’s what I want to see,” Bourla said.

Bourla noted the tax environment, which had previously pushed manufacturing abroad, has “significantly changed now” with the establishment of a global minimum tax of around 15%. He said that shift hasn’t necessarily made the U.S. more attractive, saying “it’s not as good” to invest here without additional incentives or clarity around tariffs.

“Now [Trump] I’m sure — and I know because I talked to him — that he would like to see even a reduction in the current tax regime particularly for locally produced goods,” Bourla said, adding a further decrease would be would be a strong incentive for manufacturing in the U.S.

Unlike other companies grappling with evolving trade policy, Pfizer did not revise its full-year outlook on Tuesday. However, the company noted in its earnings release that the guidance “does not currently include any potential impact related to future tariffs and trade policy changes, which we are unable to predict at this time.”

But on the earnings call on Tuesday, Pfizer executives said the guidance does reflect $150 million in costs from Trump’s existing tariffs.

“Included in our guidance that we didn’t really speak about is there are some tariffs in place today,” Pfizer CFO Dave Denton said on the call.

“We are contemplating that within our guidance range and we continue to again trend to the top end of our guidance range even with those costs to be incurred this year,” he said.



Source

Healthy Returns: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Gilead and other drugmakers release promising cancer drug data at ASCO
Health

Healthy Returns: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Gilead and other drugmakers release promising cancer drug data at ASCO

Attendees walk through the lobby at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago. Tim Boyle | Bloomberg | Getty Images A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Healthy Returns newsletter, which brings the latest health-care news straight to your inbox. Subscribe here to receive future editions. I’m back in New […]

Read More
Hims & Hers to acquire European telehealth platform in global expansion
Health

Hims & Hers to acquire European telehealth platform in global expansion

The Hims logo arranged on a smartphone in New York, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025.  Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Hims & Hers Health announced Tuesday it will acquire European telehealth platform Zava in its push to expand globally. “We’re excited to take this moment to really accelerate both the European expansion, but […]

Read More
Speaker Mike Johnson says some Medicaid recipients will ‘choose’ whether to lose healthcare under House spending bill
Health

Speaker Mike Johnson says some Medicaid recipients will ‘choose’ whether to lose healthcare under House spending bill

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Sunday defended cuts to Medicaid in the budget bill House Republicans passed last month from allegations that millions of Americans could lose their access to the program, saying that “4.8 million people will not lose their Medicaid unless they choose to do so.” Johnson told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that the […]

Read More