Andrew Silver

Popular Western medicines for diseases including cancer and diabetes have been caught in the escalating U.S.-China trade war, a Reuters review of Chinese regulator data showed, and threaten to add to drugmakers' costs.

Pharmaceutical companies in China are reporting that they have been able to import some drugs over the past week with tariff exemptions, the Beijing-based American Chamber of Commerce said on Friday.

Several of Europe’s biggest funders of scientific collaboration with China, in fields such as viruses and air quality, have put bilateral research programmes on hold due to concerns over Chinese data protection laws, funding agencies said.

China exempted some U.S. imports from its steep tariffs in a sign on Friday that the trade war between the two countries could be easing, though China quickly knocked down U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that negotiations were underway.

The quiet approach allows Beijing, which has repeatedly said it is willing to fight till the end unless the U.S. lifts its 145% tariffs, to maintain its public messaging while privately taking practical steps to provide concessions.

Australia's CSL Ltd said it's evaluating whether its drugs used in surgery would be exempted from 125% tariffs China imposed on U.S.-made goods, as it seeks to minimise impact of a trade war between Beijing and Washington.

German healthcare and materials group Merck KGaA has dropped a surcharge on life sciences sector orders within China following the U.S.-China agreement to pause sky-high tariffs on each other, the company said Wednesday.

Australia will "not compromise" on its policy to subsidise the cost of some medicines, the government said on Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order to lower domestic drug prices roiled the global pharmaceutical industry.

Drug research and development firms in China including WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics are changing project plans, stockpiling supplies and discussing testing locally, said sources with knowledge of the matter, as they seek to mitigate the impact of U.S.-China trade tensions.

Chinese drugmaker Innogen expects to complete a late-stage clinical trial of its experimental weight-loss drug candidate next year, its CEO said on Tuesday, the latest Chinese company to join the race to develop obesity treatments.