Pfizer CEO warns German investment at risk, cancels meeting with Chancellor Merz over drug pricing plans

A letter to the chancellor

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla sent a letter to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on June 9, warning that proposed legislation to cap drug costs is undermining the predictability needed for long-term investment decisions. The letter, seen by Reuters and the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, said Pfizer is reviewing "the timing, scope and future prioritization of certain planned investments in Germany" without specifying which projects are affected. Bourla also withdrew from the government's "Invest in Germany Summit" planned for autumn 2026.

After careful consideration, I must unfortunately inform you that I cannot participate on this occasion.

Three drugmakers push back

The Pfizer warning follows two similar announcements within the past week. Eli Lilly said it would halve its $2.3 billion investment in a new site in Alzey, Rhineland-Palatinate, while German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim scrapped its €900 million investment plans entirely. Both cited the government's healthcare cost-cutting measures. Pfizer employs more than 3,000 people in Germany and operates a major facility in Freiburg.

The legislation at issue

Health Minister Nina Warken's "Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz" aims to relieve statutory health insurers by €16.3 billion in 2027 and prevent rising contribution rates. The package includes sharper savings targets for the pharmaceutical sector, with manufacturer rebates paid to insurers set to increase significantly. Bourla wrote that the proposals are changing price and market conditions to such an extent that the environment for sustainable, long-term investment is becoming "increasingly difficult."

It is increasingly difficult to reconcile the current political direction with the aspiration to position Germany as a globally competitive location for biopharmaceutical innovations.

A broader transatlantic tension

The German standoff is part of a wider conflict between drugmakers and European governments that has been building for months. It is fueled partly by U.S. President Donald Trump's "most-favored-nation" pricing push, which aims to tie some U.S. medicine prices to lower prices elsewhere, including in Europe. Large pharmaceutical firms including AstraZeneca and Roche have recently warned they may be unable to launch future innovative medicines in Europe unless governments agree to pay more than they historically have.

Unanswered requests

Bourla and more than 30 other pharmaceutical CEOs sent a letter to Merz dated April 22 requesting an "urgent face-to-face or virtual meeting" with the chancellor. Several industry sources told Reuters there was no response. The German government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. AOK Federal Association CEO Carola Reimann pushed back against the industry criticism, noting that the statutory health insurance system faces a deficit in the double-digit billions while Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim post billions in profits.

What comes next

Pfizer said it is reassessing its external commitments and the prioritization of planned investments. The company did not specify a timeline for its review. The "Invest in Germany Summit" in autumn 2026 will proceed without Bourla, and the government has yet to signal any willingness to modify the proposed legislation.