'Landmark' UK-US pharma agreement – 'Deal or No Deal?'

Photo: © Ginettigino | Dreamstime.com

We weren’t late to this; we were simply awaiting confirmation from both parties that the Whitehall-announced “landmark UK-US pharmaceuticals deal to safeguard medicines access and drive vital investment for UK patients and businesses” was, in fact, a go.

Yes, US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick came out calling it a major win, adding it was “strengthening supply chains, creating high-quality jobs, and reinforcing America as the world’s premier hub for life-sciences investment”.

Britain’s business and trade secretary Peter Kyle noted it “guarantees UK pharmaceutical exports – worth at least £5bn PA – will enter the US tariff-free, protecting jobs, boosting investment, and paving the way for the UK to become a global hub for life sciences”.

“We will continue to build on the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal, and the record-breaking investments we secured during the US state visit, to create jobs and raise living standards as part of our Plan for Change,” Mr Kyle added.

But The Loadstar has learned that on these sorts of agreements it is better to wait for the man in the oval office to chip in – or, at bare minimum, to see a statement expressing similar enthusiasm pop up on the White House bulletin board.

And yet, still nothing from him on a deal that will see the UK raise the amount the NHS (its beloved National Health Service) spends on new medicines in exchange for zero tariffs for British firms selling into the US.

One voice we have heard from, however, is DHL, with a spokesperson noting the company welcomed news of the agreement, particularly given its own ongoing investment into pharma capabilities and cold chain transport on both sides of the Atlantic.

“We also recognise it as something that could help counter some of the domestic pressures on pharmaceutical businesses in the UK,” the spokesperson for the logistics behemoth told The Loadstar.

Other forwarders appear to be aware that a deal has been struck, but as has become common throughout this second Trump administration, no one seems to be wanting to speculate too wildly on what the future holds.

That decision to remain circumspect may, in part, be down to the associated reports that, while this agreement has been reached on the pharma provisions, they will come as part of the broader UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal, announced back in May.

Announced maybe, negotiated and finalised… not quite, with Politico noting seven months on from the news UK PM Keir Starmer had continued the recent trend of Labour leaders buddying up with Republican commander-in-chiefs, there remain gaps to be filled.