Tariff Turmoil, FDA’s Future, Pfizer’s Obesity Setback and CEO Salaries Revealed

It’s all about tariffs again this week. No sooner had Donald Trump announced that “major” tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry would be coming “very shortly”—sending stocks spiraling—the president announced a 90-day pause on most taxes for imports from countries not named China. But this respite was not to last. On Sunday, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick told ABC News that tariffs would be coming for pharma in the next month or two, according to Leerink.  

A Federal Register Notice revealing an investigation into pharmaceutical product imports and the associated potential national security threats additionally signaled that tariffs might be imminent. Accordingly, tariffs were a major theme as Johnson & Johnson kicked off Q1 earnings season on Tuesday, where CEO Joaquin Duato urged President Donald Trump to consider tax policy changes instead. Last week, Novartis joined J&J and Eli Lilly in preparing for said tariffs with a $23 billion pledge to expand its own U.S. R&D and manufacturing. And amid all of these trade tensions, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology released a report warning that China is “dangerously close” to overtaking U.S. biotech.  

Meanwhile, after unprecedented cuts to its workforce, the FDA is looking toward a future of drug review delays and increased executive oversight, according to experts. Industry watchers have also expressed concern that the cuts could trigger a little-known mechanism built into the Prescription Drug User Fee Act that could potentially cost the FDA nearly half of its funding and set the agency—and U.S. patients—back 35 years.  

Also fighting for headlines on Monday morning was Pfizer’s announcement that it is ending development of its lead obesity candidate danuglipron after detecting a potential case of drug-induced liver injury. Pfizer’s loss could be Viking Therapeutics’ gain, however, as analysts immediately floated the idea of a marriage between the two companies. Viking has long been a top takeover target, and the biotech’s shares rose 13% upon Pfizer’s announcement.  

Finally, it’s that time of year again: In BioPharm Executive this week, BioSpace looked at the top paid CEOs in biopharma. Who is this year’s highest paid CEO? Click here to find out.