Asembia 2025: What Pharma Leaders Must Know About Tariffs, Supply Chains, and Policy Changes

The second day of Asembia’s AXS25 Summit featured a session that addressed a distinct set of challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry. Titled “Beyond the Headlines: What Pharma Leaders Must Know About Tariffs, Supply Chains, and Policy Changes,” the discussion highlighted how evolving global instability, policy shifts, and supply chain vulnerabilities are reshaping access and strategy within the US healthcare system.

The panel, moderated by Bob Jansen, CEO, Zensights, featured three members of the FHAP (Federal Healthcare Advisory Panel): David Shulkin, ninth secretary, US Department of Veterans Affairs; Paul Funk, retired US Army General; and Dennis LeMaster, retired US Army Major General.

Jansen opened by framing the session’s focus and the mission of FHAP. “We believe the United States is currently a ‘nation at risk,’” he said, pointing to widespread changes in day-to-day trade and the fact that many organizations lack the macro-level experience needed to navigate the current environment. He explained that FHAP is working to challenge how pharmaceutical companies approach business in such a volatile climate.

Turning to policy, Jansen asked Shulkin what he had seen thus far from changes made by the Trump Administration.

“I had the opportunity to work with both President Obama as well as President Trump,” Shulkin said. “Under Obama, you'd have to prepare detailed briefings and then meet with the staff, and they would prepare your presentation. By the time you got to the president, he read your briefings and asked you questions.”

He continued, “Under President Trump, you would just walk into the Oval Office. The first time I did, I gave him my briefing papers, and he told me that he didn’t want those, but wanted me to just tell him what I wanted to do and why I wanted to do it. He'd usually either give me a yes or no almost immediately.”

Shulkin pointed out that Trump reversed three executive orders on drug pricing in his first week, including a cap on generic drugs, a Medicaid pilot program to improve access to expensive cell and gene therapies, and a policy that sped up drug approvals in exchange for price concessions. He added that Trump introduced a new executive order on drug pricing and met with pharma CEOs from companies like Eli Lilly and Pfizer, asserting he could negotiate better Medicare drug prices.

Jansen then turned the conversation toward tariffs, specifically those imposed on China by the United States, and the potential consequences. He emphasized that the threat isn’t just about tariffs, but how China’s long-term, centralized strategy contrasts with Western thinking. He asked LeMaster to address how this dynamic might affect healthcare.

“Right now, we face a national security threat from China on various fronts,” LeMaster said. “Due to our national economic policy decisions in the last 40 years, we rely on China for roughly 80% to 90% of our pharmaceuticals. China thinks in terms of generations, and they have a centralized government. This can create very quick, rapid decisions, faster than democracies like what we have in Western Europe and our own country.”

LeMaster warned that China could weaponize healthcare by cutting off the export of critical medicines, disrupting supply chains, contaminating drugs, or even using artificial intelligence and stolen health data to target specific populations, such as military personnel. His recommendation: bring the entire pharmaceutical manufacturing process—including key starting materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients—back to the United States.

Shifting the lens to military values and cultural differences, Jansen noted that the US and China value life in different ways and asked Funk to comment.

“For a young man or woman who is wounded on the battlefield, we are the only nation in the world that has a designated aircraft that has a heart-lung bypass machine in it, and it will deploy a team to save someone’s life,” Funk noted. “That’s what we value.”

The conversation emphasized the need for pharmaceutical companies to fundamentally rethink how they assess risk, opportunity, and preparedness in an increasingly volatile world. LeMaster cited the Chikungunya virus as an example of a threat that could severely impair US military readiness, underscoring the importance of early collaboration with agencies such as the Department of Defense.

As the discussion concluded, the panelists collectively emphasized that real transformation would require long-term investment, policy reform, early workforce development, and strong public-private partnerships to bolster pharmaceutical manufacturing and national resilience.

Reference

Jansen B, Shulkin D, Funk P, LeMaster D. Beyond the Headlines: What Pharma Leaders Must Know About Tariffs, Supply Chains, and Policy Changes.April 29, 2025. Asembia AXS25 Summit. Las Vegas.