The chief executive of one of the world’s largest generic drugmakers has called on Donald Trump to tackle “lazy patent expansion” to cut the US drug bill, as the US president pushes to lower medicine prices for Americans. 

Richard Saynor, chief executive of Switzerland’s Sandoz, said he backed the intention of the administration’s “most favoured nation” policy — where it is seeking to cut prescription drug prices to the lowest level paid by other rich countries — but said more focus was needed on the plight of generic medicines, which make up 90 per cent of those used in the US.

Generic drugs, produced after a patent expires, are usually about 80 per cent cheaper than the branded versions. The US pays less for generic medicines than many European countries because of a concentration of buyers, leading to a situation where many drugmakers stop supplying the medicines, creating shortages.