[Editorial] Drug pricing and pharmaceutical innovation: a false promise

The UK is facing a pharma exodus. Major pharmaceutical companies have withdrawn about £2 billion in proposed investment from the country, blaming insufficient government investment. Central to the dispute is the amount of money that the National Health Service (NHS) spends on medicines—the main argument being that without adequate reward, industry investment in research and development will evaporate. The standoff has been catalysed by Donald Trump's threats to place vast tariffs on US medicine imports if companies do not level the prices the USA pays for drugs.