7/3/2018

DRUGS/HHS/PHARMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump in May said that drugmakers would soon announce ‘massive’ price cuts, and his administration rolled out a plan to bring down the cost of medicines. But the companies don’t appear to have gotten that message. Bayer raised the price of two cancer drugs by hundreds of dollars in May and Novartis followed by boosting four pricey treatments in June. Pfizer, one of the largest U.S. pharmaceutical companies, announced increases on more than 41 products this week. They weren’t alone. A Wells Fargo report found 104 price increases in June and the first two days of July, with an average jump of 31.5 percent and a median increase of 9.4 percent. That followed 48 increases in May. The list price hikes don’t factor in discounts that companies may provide to some insurance companies and patients. The across-the-board increases cast doubt on whether Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar can pressure manufacturers to voluntarily drop prices without the threat of specific consequences.”

-Sarah Karlin-Smith, “Drugmakers defy Trump’s call to drop prices,” Politico, July 3, 2018 5:51 pm