When Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York City in 2015 to announce the launch of his first presidential campaign, it marked the beginning of a politically turbulent period.
Following his return to politics, which the 鈥済reatest comeback鈥� in political history, the first 100 days of 鈥楾rump 2.0鈥� have unfolded with significant impact.
In a statement released on April 29 to mark the Trump administration鈥檚 first 100 days, the White House highlighted inflation statistics claiming that prescription drug prices have decreased by more than 2% since President Trump took office.
鈥淟ast month鈥檚 drop in the price of prescription drugs was the largest ever recorded,鈥� the stated. However, experts are debating how much direct influence presidential policy had on those price trends.
GlobalData reviews how Trump鈥檚 cabinet picks and decision-making are influencing the healthcare industry after 100 days in office.
Tariffs and the trade war escalation
On 2 April, the that it would by imposing 10% tariffs on practically all countries from 5 April.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don鈥檛 let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataAfter an escalatory period, on 9 April, China announced 84% retaliatory tariff on all goods imported from the US, up from 34%, in response to Trump鈥檚 recent levy hikes. This action followed the US鈥� imposition of a 125% tariff on Chinese imports on 9 April 2025, up from 104%, further inflaming a trade war observers have deemed 鈥� and
Due to the current lack of exemptions for the pharmaceutical industry by the Chinese government, imported pharmaceutical products and vaccines will be subject to the additional tariffs.
According to GlobalData analysis, for pharma, the tariffs may disrupt drug development costs and prices as they will increase the import costs of many raw materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Huge tariffs on imports from China are also doubly impactful due to
Some experts speculate that the 鈥榯rickle down鈥� effect of tariffs on pharmaceuticals may also make the US a less attractive place in which to conduct clinical trials and could result in trials being shipped to other countries where investigational drugs can be produced more affordably.
Beyond the impact tariffs are liable to have on trial costs and drugs, medical devices such as CT scanners and X-ray machines, and equipment such as gowns and gloves, are also affected, putting supply and demand into question.
To mitigate these new challenges, which have for some of the in healthcare, some have taken a prescient approach and , scrapped their , or, in the case of Thermo Fisher Scientific, taken steps to counter the tariffs by pledging
The DOGE effect
One of the Trump administration鈥檚 key focuses in the first 100 days has been to achieve what it describes as 鈥榞overnment efficiency鈥�. In practice, this has resulted in significant staff reductions headcount cuts and the practical erasure of entire US government agencies such as the US Agency for International Development (USAID), resulting in until alternative funding is obtained.
Various cuts to research funding are also likely to impact the ability for academic organisations and early-stage companies in preclinical settings to move drugs into the clinic.
One of the notable actions of the Trump administration鈥檚 actions over the past 100 days in healthcare has been in the at agencies under the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
HHS secretary Robert F Kennedy, Junior (RFK Jr), has culled the combined workforce of agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from
The cuts have whether the cuts will hamstring the agencies鈥� abilities, both in managing their rudimentary functions such as completing premarket review duties on drugs and medical devices, and in coordinating effective nationwide tracking and response plans should any new viral outbreaks take hold.
