Trump threatens drug giants with crackdown over prices | Business
Donald Trump threatened to use “each tool in our arsenal” to suppress pharmaceutical giants if they fail to reduce the prices of medicines for Americans within 60 days.
The president wrote to the leaders of 17 companies on Thursday, demanding that they correspond to their American prices for prescription drugs with the lowest price offered in other developed countries.
Current prices were an “unacceptable burden” for American families, said Trump, saying that they could be up to three times higher than in other countries.
After going back to the White House earlier this year and undertake to reduce the prices of medicines, the president said that “most of the pharmaceutical industry” has been raised to “more than the same thing”, accusing companies of seeking to change the blame and of asking policies that would open the way for billions of dollars for the sector.
“Make no mistake: a collaboration effort to achieve global price parity would be the most effective way for American companies, government and patients,” Trump wrote. “But if you refuse to intensify, we will deploy all the tools of our arsenal to protect American families against abusive pricing practices of drugs.
“Americans demand a drop in drug prices and they need it today.”
The patterns of Pfizer, Astrazeneca and GSK were one of those who received the letters. GSK did not respond to requests for comments. Astrazeneca refused to comment.
Pfizer said: “Pfizer works in close collaboration with the Trump administration and the Congress on solutions that will increase access and affordability for American patients and will improve the power of the biopharmaceutical innovation ecosystem in the United States. Our discussions have been productive.”
Pfizer’s shares slipped 2%, Astrazeneca dropped by 3.8% and GSK dropped 3.9% during afternoon negotiations in New York.
At the heart of Trump’s proposal is a status known as the “most favored nation”, through which it wants to link the cost of drugs sold in the United States to the lowest prices paid elsewhere.
The White House requires pharmaceutical companies to extend this to the drugs used by the elderly through the Medicaid health program supported by the government, as well as new drugs.
