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The head of a UK PR company representing US drugmakers has quit her job after the US Embassy in London raised concerns about online posts in which she criticized President Donald Trump, who lobbied for more spending on medicines in Britain.
Gavin Megaw’s exit from Hanover came after the US Embassy cut off contact with the PR firm last month and complained to the US pharmaceutical group about his LinkedIn posts, according to a document seen by the FT and a person familiar with the matter.
APG – which represents drugmakers such as Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson and Gilead in the UK and uses Hanover to provide strategic communications – was concerned about damage to its relationship with the US embassy, ​​the person said.
The embassy has played a key role in forcing the UK government to increase NHS spending on medicines after Trump accused European countries of “giving away” American innovation for free and threatened pharmaceutical tariffs.
Drug makers are also pressuring ministers to pay more for the drugs, complaining that clawback taxes on their sales in Britain unexpectedly increased last year.
Megaw, who stepped down as chairman and managing director of Hanover at the end of January, has deleted the LinkedIn posts. But snippets from search engine Google show Megow posted about a “ridiculously rambling press conference” by Trump are still visible.
Another post noted “Another day and another Trump hurricane, this time over the Chagos Islands”, adding that governments around the world “have fallen into the Trump trap”.
The person briefed on the situation said the US Embassy was “going crazy” over the posts, adding that there was a “clear indication that their support to the APG would be affected”.
He said, “The US Embassy insisted that APG fire Hanover… otherwise they would no longer deal with him.” He said APG considers its relationship with the embassy “important” because “they have allowed pharmaceutical companies to overcome Treasury resistance against rising drug prices”.
APG eventually dropped Hanover, with the PR firm now serving the end of its contract.
In September, the FT reported that US Ambassador to Britain Warren Stephens urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves at a private dinner to offer global drugmakers a better deal on drug pricing.
As part of a deal signed by London and Washington this year, the UK agreed to invest almost 25 percent more in innovative, safe and effective treatments – the first major increase in medicines spending in more than two decades. The government acknowledged this month that the deal would cost the health service in England an initial £1 billion over the first three years.
APG and Hanover said: “The contract between American Pharmaceutical Group and Hanover will expire at its scheduled end following a final cycle supplier review.”
The US Embassy and Megaw declined to comment.
