AstraZeneca has announced an agreement with the Trump administration to dramatically reduce prescription medicine costs for American patients while preserving the country’s position as a global biopharmaceutical leader.

The deal should draw a line under uncertainties about whether AstraZeneca will be hit by US tariffs, which could disrupt sales in its largest market.

AstraZeneca shares were 0.4% higher at the time of writing on Monday. Shares are 15% higher in October.

The British-Swedish pharmaceutical company’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, joined President Donald Trump at the White House to confirm the firm had voluntarily met all four requests outlined in the President’s letter from 31st July.

The deal centres on equalising medicine prices for American patients with those available in other wealthy nations.

Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will offer direct-to-consumer sales to eligible patients with chronic disease prescriptions at discounts of up to 80% off list prices. Patients will be able to purchase medicines at reduced cash prices through the TrumpRx.gov direct purchasing platform.

The deal follows AstraZeneca’s recently announced $50 billion investment in US medicines manufacturing and research and development over the next five years, made under pressure from the US President.

Trump had previously threatened tariffs of up to 100% on imported drugs.

AstraZeneca has framed the US investment in the context of its target to reach $80 billion in total revenue by 2030. Half of this revenue is expected to come from the American market alone.

“Every year AstraZeneca treats millions of Americans living with cancer and chronic diseases and, as a result of today’s agreement, many patients will access life-changing medicines at lower prices,” said Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca.

“This new approach also helps safeguard America’s pioneering role as a global powerhouse in innovation and developing the next generation of medicines. It is now essential other wealthy countries step up their contribution to fund innovation.”

Serica Energy has agreed to acquire BP’s entire stake in two North Sea licences containing the Culzean gas condensate field – the largest producing gas field in the North Sea.

The company has a stated strategy of growing through the acquisition of mid-to-late life assets and today’s announcement follows the recent acquisition of Prax Upstream Limited from Prax Exploration & Production Plc.

The latest acquisition would give Serica a 32% non-operated working interest in Culzean’s P111 licence and the adjacent P2544 exploration licence.

Net 2P reserves attributable to the stake are estimated at roughly 33 million barrels of oil equivalent as of 1 January 2025. Production costs are said to be $10.70 per barrel.

“Should this transaction complete, it would deliver a step-change for Serica, adding material production and cash flows from the largest producing gas field in the UK,” said Chris Cox, Serica’s CEO.

“Culzean is a world-class asset, delivering gas from a modern platform with exceptionally high uptime and low emissions.”

Culzean, operated by TotalEnergies, is currently the largest single producing gas field in UK waters. Under joint operating agreement rules, TotalEnergies (which holds 49.99%) and NEO NEXT (18.01%) now have 30 days to decide whether to exercise pre-emption rights and acquire BP’s stake themselves on the same terms.

The upfront consideration will $232 million in cash, which could be adjusted for working capital and offset by interim post-tax cashflows between September and completion, expected around year-end. Two further contingent payments could also become due: one tied to exploration success and production from the P2544 licence, another linked to potential changes in the UK’s ring-fence tax regime.

The Culzean field was discovered in 2008 and began production in 2019. BP’s share produced around 25,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first half of 2025, operating at 98% efficiency.

The FTSE 100 pulled back from record highs on Friday as precious metals miners and banks weighed on the index.

London’s leading index was fairly stable, and losses were minor compared to the recent run-up in stocks. The FTSE 100 was trading down 0.15% at the time of writing.

“The FTSE 100 was stuck in the mud as the rest of Europe ploughed ahead at the end of the trading week,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. 

“Strength in consumer stocks and utilities was offset by weakness in miners and healthcare.”

A slow session in London followed a fairly uninspiring close for US stocks that closed marginally lower overnight.

“Hardly major moves – the S&P 500 slipped nearly a third of a percent, while the Nasdaq was barely lower at –0.08% with Nvidia holding up the index with a gain of 1.83% after the US government gave approval to ship chips to the UAE, while Meta gained as it is considering creating a dedicated TV app,” said Saxo UK Investor Strategist, Neil Wilson.

Precious metals miners Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining suffered a rare bout of profit-taking as gold pulled back from record highs overnight.

“Gold steadied on Friday, consolidating after breaking above the USD 4,000 threshold for the first time earlier in the week,” said Joseph Dahrieh, Managing Principal at Tickmill.

“The metal remains on track for an eighth consecutive weekly gain, underpinned by expectations of further Federal Reserve rate cuts and lingering global uncertainties.

“Profit-taking and easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East contributed to a pause in momentum. Israel ratified the first phase of a ceasefire deal with Hamas, which includes a partial military withdrawal from Gaza and the release of hostages within days, although sporadic airstrikes continued.”

Fresnillo lost 3.7%, and Endeavour was the FTSE 100 top faller, down 3.8%.

The housebuilders were marginally positive despite a dire warning from brickmaker Ibstock about slowing demand amid economic uncertainty. Barratt Redrow and Persimmon were both higher by around 0.3%.

The Ibstock CEO said, “headwinds are impacting momentum in our markets in the latter part of the year”. Ibstock shares were 8% weaker.

Sage Group was the top FTSE 100 riser as the stock broke out of a tight range held since early August.