This is how exposed European Big Pharma is to the U.S.

Drug pricing has emerged arsenic 1 of the biggest issues for pharmaceutical companies this year, arsenic the U.S. looks to dramatically trim the costs paid by consumers.

As the largest azygous marketplace for astir pharma and biotech firms, higher cause prices successful the U.S. — often astir 3 times arsenic costly arsenic successful different countries — are a cardinal origin successful the industry's reliance connected American sales, with branded drugs commanding adjacent steeper premiums.

President Donald Trump has pushed for little cause prices for Americans done alleged Most Favored Nations cause pricing, whereby the prices successful the U.S. are acceptable astatine the lowest terms paid by different affluent countries. That could person a tremendous interaction connected companies' equilibrium sheets.

But precisely however exposed are Europe's biggest pharma companies to the U.S. market?

Majority U.S. sales

Among the 10 largest biopharmaceutical companies successful the Stoxx 600 wellness index, 5 person a bulk of their full income from the U.S.: Roche, Novo Nordisk, GSK, Argenx, and UCB.

Argenx is the astir exposed, with 85% of full income originating successful the U.S. successful its past reported period.

The slightest exposed are Germany's Merck KGaA and Bayer, with astir 30% of income coming from the U.S. Both Merck and Bayer person diversified businesses that spell beyond pharmaceuticals portion Roche besides has a sizeable diagnostics division.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca, the FTSE 100's largest company, generates 42% of its income from the U.S., and is aiming to boost this stock arsenic it targets $80 cardinal successful gross by 2030. In its third-quarter net report, the company, which has a wide portfolio of blockbuster drugs comprising cancer, respiratory, and diabetes medicines, said it is delivering connected its strategy to fortify operations successful the U.S. to "power growth."

The Cambridge, U.K.-based institution has besides pledged important investments successful the U.S., conscionable similar peers Novartis, Roche, and GSK, since Trump took up his 2nd statesmanlike term.

Making deals

​Trump's propulsion for slashing cause prices has led galore firms connected some sides of the Atlantic to marque deals with the administration.

​In May this year, the president signed an executive order establishing MFN cause pricing. He has besides sent letters to 17 large drugmakers, calling for them to slash U.S. medicine prices to levels paid overseas.

​At the aforesaid time, Trump has made a propulsion for onshoring accumulation of assorted goods, including pharmaceuticals, and threatened triple-digit tariffs for drugmakers that neglect to put successful U.S. manufacturing — further ramping up the unit connected companies to marque deals with his administration.

​AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, and different U.S. pharma giants person already made deals with Trump to little prices of their medicines successful the country, though analysts accidental it whitethorn not person a important interaction connected their bottommost lines owed to the mode the deals were structured.

"[AstraZeneca's] MFN woody is much benign than appreciated, but EU countries whitethorn spot entree to drugs reduced," said Jefferies analysts successful November.

​Late Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that heavyweights Roche and Novartis – the 2 biggest European pharma companies by marketplace worth – were closing successful connected cause pricing deals with the Trump administration, which whitethorn beryllium announced arsenic soon arsenic Friday.

Both companies told CNBC they supported the administration's extremity of lowering cause costs for Americans but declined to corroborate an imminent deal. Novartis said it was "in treatment with the Administration."

– Carolin Roth contributed to this report