South Korea’s pharmaceutical manufacturing reached an all-time high of ₩32.86 trillion (US$23 billion) in 2024, representing a 7.3% increase from 2023 and the highest on record since the country began count in 1998.
“Pharmaceuticals will be tariffed, probably at the end of the month,” U.S. President Donald Trump said, as he provided a few more details about his proposed global biopharma sector tariff. “We’re going to start off with a low tariff and give the pharmaceutical companies a year or so to build. And then we’re going to make it a very high tariff.”
The U.S. Commerce Department isn't expected to complete its Section 232 investigation to build a national security case for imposing tariffs on biopharmaceuticals until the end of the month, but that didn’t stop President Donald Trump from once again teasing a “very, very high” tariff for medicines and their ingredients.
The U.K. government has doubled the rate that pharmaceutical companies must repay on sales of branded drugs, under the statutory rebate scheme, to a record 31.3%. Only 1-2% of total sales of branded drugs fall under the statutory scheme, but the increase is seen as a sign that an ongoing review of the voluntary scheme is not going well.
South Korea’s pharmaceutical exports rose nearly 18% year-on-year to reach $2.56 billion in the first quarter (Q1) this year, according to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Medical device exports, however, dropped about 5% in Q1 2025 to $1.39 billion, attributed to a drop in trade of implant products to both China and the U.S.
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued its first official guidance on how to develop bacteriophages as licensed medicinal products. This covers personalized phage therapies designed for specific patients – at present the only form in which they are available – but also is relevant to the development of off-the-shelf products for treating common infections.
The EMA has issued a new guideline on how to include and/or retain pregnant and breastfeeding women in clinical trials, in a move that it says “marks a change in the paradigm.” The aim is to ensure that trial sponsors generate robust clinical data in these populations.
South Korea’s pharmaceutical exports rose nearly 18% year-on-year to reach $2.56 billion in the first quarter (Q1) this year, according to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Medical device exports, however, dropped about 5% in Q1 2025 to $1.39 billion, attributed to a drop in trade of implant products to both China and the U.S.
A court decision blocking President Donald Trump’s reciprocal and trafficking tariffs was hardly a day old before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stepped in late May 29 to grant a temporary stay while it considers the administration’s appeal. The stay adds further uncertainty to the path ahead for drug and device companies.
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