Global pharma stocks down as Trump renews tariff threat Jun. 17, 2025

Notable decliners included Elanco Animal Health $ELAN, Takeda Pharmaceutical $TAK, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories $RDY, Novo Nordisk $NVO, and Eli Lilly $LLY.

Leading drugmakers Sanofi $SNY, Merck $MRK, Pfizer $PFE, Viatris $VTRS, Bristol Myers $BMY, AstraZeneca $AZN, GSK $GSK, Gilead $GILD, Vertex Pharma $VRTX, and J&J $JNJ are also in the red.

Major global pharmaceutical companies traded lower in the premarket on Tuesday after President Donald Trump reiterated his plans to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical goods, a product category that has largely been immune from trade war due to public health impact.

Tariffs on the pharmaceutical sector are “coming soon," Trump said on board Air Force One on Tuesday. VanEck Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF $PPH, which represents 25 global drug stocks, dropped ~1% in reaction, while SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals $XPH traded flat.

Trump spared the pharmaceutical sector from his Liberation Days tariffs in April, which he later rolled back. However, he continued to make tariff threats against the industry, noting that steeper levies would accelerate pharma majors' plans to shift their manufacturing operations to the U.S.