Interview: Shire confident rare drugs will be valued, despite Trump threats

By Ben Hirschler

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Shire, which sells some of the world's most expensive prescription drugs, believes the U.S. market will continue to recognise the value of its rare disease treatments, despite sabre-rattling on pricing by President-elect Donald Trump.

"I think we are in good position to prove the value of our products but, of course, there will be challenges," Chief Executive Flemming Ornskov said on Tuesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"Left untreated, these diseases have devastating outcomes, so I think we have a good case to make."

Trump last week accused the pharmaceuticals industry of "getting away with murder" in what they charged the government for medicines and pledged to save billions of dollars by increasing competition.

His comments hit drug stocks and have rattled drug company executives but Ornskov said the nature of rare diseases, affecting very small patient groups, meant there was often no alterative therapy available.

"In many cases, we are either the only one or one of only very few products within a specific category, which puts us in a better position," he said.

Shire's large haemophilia business, which it inherited after buying Baxalta for $32 billion last year, is seeing more competitive pressure, but Ornskov said so far he had "not seen anything dramatic".

The Danish doctor, who has led Shire since 2013, reiterated his target of lifting sales to $20 billion by 2020. "That implies double-digit growth and there are not too many companies around that have that kind of growth trajectory," he said.

Shire aims to pay down debt after buying Baxalta, so the company has put plans for significant acquisitions on pause. But Ornskov said it would still look out for licensing deals and small "tuck-in" acquisitions.

(Editing by Alexandra Hudson)