Prashant Yadav

America’s Pill Problem Tariffs won’t fix the country’s reliance on foreign medicines.

Thomas Bollyky, Chloe Searchinger, and @prof-yadav.bsky.social discuss the United States’ growing dependence on foreign sources for critical medicines—and call on policymakers to diversify the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain:

Since 2020, I have frequently joined Tommy Tucker and WWL Radio's morning show to discuss pharmaceutical supply issues for their listeners in New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast. This morning, we talked about the Trump Administration’s pharmaceutical tariffs
@cfr.org
audacy.com/podcast/wwl-...

America’s Pill Problem Tariffs won’t fix the country’s reliance on foreign medicines.

The United States’ growing dependence on foreign drugs puts national security at risk—but imposing high tariffs on essential generic medicines will not make the country safer, argue @prof-yadav.bsky.social and Thomas Bollyky.

America’s Pill Problem Tariffs won’t fix the country’s reliance on foreign medicines.

The United States’ growing dependence on foreign drugs puts national security at risk—but imposing high tariffs on essential generic medicines will not make the country safer, argue @prof-yadav.bsky.social, Chloe Searchinger, and Thomas Bollyky.

Procuring #pandemic #countermeasures needs new skills, smarter contracts & higher risk tolerance. Demand is highly volatile, suppliers may be new, production incentives are weak, & often need #procurement before reg approval. Key themes I shared at the recent ADB symposium on pandemics.
@cfr.org

On 11 July 2025, the Asian Development Bank will host a Symposium on Multilateral Financing for Pandemic Preparedness and Response in Manila. The symposium features a session on procurement for medical countermeasures. You can also join us via Zoom: lnkd.in/ei7zKtX6.

The US needs to address the lack of supply resilience for critical generic medicines. But it needs other tools of industrial policy (hint: not tariffs). @jaredshopkins.bsky.social @wsj.com
www.wsj.com/health/pharm...
Thanks for including my thoughts.
#generic #pharma #supplychain #resilience

Amid #WHA78, the WHS session on “Taking Responsibility for Health in a Fragmented World” sparked some key reflections for me. Grateful to @Ilona Kickbusch for thoughtful questions on trade, industrial policy, & global health. Hope it sparks a continued dialogue. 👇images copyright World Health Summit

If you are in Geneva at #WHA78 join us for this
@worldhealthsummit.bsky.social #WHS side event "Taking Responsibility for Health in a Fragmenting World."
📍 InterContinental Hotel - Ballroom A
🗓️ May 21, 2025 | 17:00 CEST
👉 Full program here: lnkd.in/dUbBEV8W
@cfr.org

Executive Order to Lower U.S. Drug Prices Could Hurt the Poorest Countries | Think Global Health Cascading adoption of most-favored-nation drug pricing could erode affordable access to essential medicines

CFR Senior Fellow @prof-yadav.bsky.social analyzes how the White House's executive order to lower drug prices by invoking a most-favored-nation clause could have cascading effects on medicine access in low-income countries.

Executive Order to Lower U.S. Drug Prices Could Hurt the Poorest Countries | Think Global Health Cascading adoption of most-favored-nation drug pricing could erode affordable access to essential medicines

The U.S. executive order on most-favored-nation drug pricing could have cascading implications for global health agencies serving LMICs. It could undermine mechanisms that enable affordable access to essential medicines. - @prof-yadav.bsky.social

Executive Order to Lower U.S. Drug Prices Could Hurt the Poorest Countries | Think Global Health Cascading adoption of most-favored-nation drug pricing could erode affordable access to essential medicines

www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/exec...

The new US Exec Order on pharma MFN pricing sticks to high-income countries (thankfully). But it risks reigniting broader MFN demands by MICs, jeopardizing low-tier prices critical for access in low-income countries. I unpack this in my latest ThinkGlobalHealth @cfr.org piece. (Link in next post) 👇

Some other discussion points re tiered pricing, comparing company-led tiered pricing vs more systematically established bands (not directly related to the MFN clause) that we have deliberated in the past.
cgdev.org/sites/defaul...

In 👇 we argue that each country would pay a price pharmaceuticals that is commensurate with the value it provides to that country's health system.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32185365/

👇 link to a 2010 study conducted for the Industry Government Forum on Access to Medicines to review current literature on differential pricing, under what conditions does it improve overall welfare, and some operational/practical considerations.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a78b6...

Creating a single price for pharmaceuticals (through MFN) is both inefficient and inequitable. There is sufficient and strong evidence for this. Also, an MFN clause hurts the poorest countries the most.

Links to my review studies and past work on this are in the following posts.

Exclusive: WHO set to back use of weight-loss drugs for adults globally, raises cost issue The World Health Organization plans to officially back the use of weight-loss drugs to treat obesity in adults for the first time, a memo reviewed by Reuters on Thursday shows, marking a shift in its approach to treating the global health problem.

Adding GLP-1s to the WHO-EML could transform access in LMICs. Challenging..but vital if we’re serious about accelerating access to breakthrough health tech in LMICs.
@petersinger.bsky.social @verowirtz.bsky.social
reuters.com/business/hea...

MyDawa, spro

The i3 program for African health startups is back for Phase 2! After backing 60 early-stage startups in Phase 1, we’re now supporting 7 growth-stage companies using innovative tech to improve pharmacy access for patients. 7 outstanding companies and founders ... #Africa #healthtech #i3 #pharmacy

Rwanda is emerging as a leading example of building world-class digitalization+ tech into the health system. Driven by strong govt commitment & health sector leadership; national ID & insurance systems; expanded broadband access at clinics; and the support of nimble, responsive, and trusted partners

Since 2020, I’ve been grateful to WWL Radio (which covers across New Orleans and the Gulf Coast) for having me on their morning show to discuss pharmaceutical supply issues. ~Last week, we covered questions around potential #pharmaceutical #tariffs.
audacy.com/podcast/wwl-...

Honored to be on the Scientific Advisory Board of the #WorldVaccineCongress, which brings together top vaccine experts. Thanks to the panelists + engaged audience at this session on vaccine thermostability, from upstream tech to last-mile delivery. #vaccine #thermostability #supplychain

Trump’s ‘reshoring’ ambitions threatened by tariff chaos Companies have pledged to build factories in the US but are wary of committing long-term investment while trade policy is unclear

www.ft.com/content/d07d...

Uncertainty in trade policy is undermining the imp. goal of pharma supply chain diversification and reducing geographic concentration. Policy unpredictability is stalling these critical decisions. Article by @hannahkuchler.bsky.social
& colleagues @financialtimes.com (link next)
@cfr.org

Millions in the U.S. take this drug. Tariffs might complicate their care. Heparin is cheap and essential to millions of hospitalized people. Tariffs could disrupt the supply chain that gets ingredients from China to their beds.

The U.S. (and the world) must diversify its heparin API supply. Currently, most comes from China. We need to diversify geographically & production processes. @sabrinamalhi.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com covers the tariff risks—grateful to share my thoughts.
washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Since 2020, I have frequently joined Tommy Tucker and WWL Radio in New Orleans + the Gulf Coast on their morning show WWL First News to talk about pharmaceutical supply issues. This morning, we discussed questions surrounding potential pharmaceutical tariffs.
@cfr.org
audacy.com/podcast/wwl-...

U.S. Retreat from Gavi Cedes Influence to China's Vaccine Suppliers | Think Global Health The loss of U.S. funding could leave Gavi with three options to downsize its operations

The Donald Trump administration reportedly plans to terminate U.S. funding to Gavi

@cfr.org Senior Fellow @prof-yadav.bsky.social and Chloe Searchinger outline how defunding the global vaccine initiative could open the door for China to grow its influence among strategic partners.

Some pharma companies & distributors are stocking up the channel before the (potential) upcoming pharma tariffs take effect. The resulting "bullwhip effect" from this stockpiling will likely become more evident in the second half of 2025. @reuters.com @cfr.org
www.reuters.com/business/hea...

American Pharmaceutical Companies Still Aren’t Paying Tax in the U.S. The 2024 10-K reports of America’s largest pharmaceutical companies show that they continue to avoid paying much, if any, U.S. corporate income tax.

www.cfr.org/blog/america...

The policy debate about how to create incentives for expanded pharmaceutical manufacturing in the US doesn't get into what it means for "tax-optimized supply chains." @cfr.org colleague Brad_Setser delves into the effect of the 2017 Trump-Ryan tax reform on production location (link👇in next)