Two weeks after the pharmaceutical industry predicted dire consequences for innovation if the prescription price reduction plan proposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi passes, the White House echoed those concerns but suggested even worse outcomes than industry analysts predict.
PhRMA CEO Stephen Ubl said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan would be “devastating” to the industry.
The Trump administration scrapped a proposal for lowering prescription medicine prices, backing down from a policy that would have required health insurers to pass on billions of dollars in rebates they receive from drugmakers to Medicare patients.
The White House is expanding its war on opioid addiction with a $350 million addiction research and treatment initiative.
Prices, profits and promotional spend are closely linked. Reduce prices and promotion will plummet. But wait, the Republicans are in control. Accordingly, pharma, its marketing partners and even Wall Street often rest easy, especially when Republicans control Congress and the White House.
While many of us from blue states and urban bubbles fret over some of the actions of President Donald Trump, it’s good to take a clear-eyed view of whether or not Trump and this administration has been good for the medical marketing industries. Moreover, it’s useful to consider how a “blue wave” in the midterm elections might change the dynamic.
While the nation’s media was focusing on the unsuccessful attempts by Republicans to pass a successor to Obamacare, a fascinating sideshow has developed in nearby White Oak, Maryland, home of the Food and Drug Administration.
As a public official preparing for international negotiations, I was taught by the U.S. State Department to always know exactly what you want and what you’re willing to give up before sitting down with a skilled international trading partner. It looks like pharma representatives were well prepared recently when sitting down with the country’s new Negotiator-in-Chief, President Donald Trump, but they should be mindful that the other shoe has yet to drop.
Researchers revealed the first U.S. case of a pathogen carrying a mutated strain of E. coli resistant to an antibiotic used as a final defense versus superbugs. As a result, there has been heightened concern that a post-antibiotic era will arrive earlier than predicted.
