Dan Vasella isn’t pleased that Swiss Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin would like to see lower drug prices. So in comments to the Berner Zeitung newspaper over the weekend, Dan reminds the Couchepin that lower drug prices would be “a double-edged sword” that could have a negative effect on Switzerland, SwissInfo reports.

“The pressure from (Couchepin) is too strong,” he told the newspaper. “Drugs in Switzerland are now cheaper than in Germany.” How so? Dan argued that reduced prices could decrease the amount companies invest in research and development, and added that new drugs reduced overall hospital costs.

And let’s not forget, Dan added, that lower prices would affect tax revenues. Novartis pays roughly $488 million in tax to the Swiss government annually. However, he apparently didn’t threaten to move Novartis operations out of the country, at least not yet.