Pharma, Policy

Trump puts Big Pharma on notice: “They’re getting away with murder”

President-elect Trump unleashed on the drug industry in a Wednesday morning press conference, strongly criticizing international manufacturing practices and the lack of price negotiations at home.

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 11: President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a news cenference at Trump Tower on January 11, 2017 in New York City. This is TrumpÕs first official news conference since the November elections. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump at the news conference held on January 11, 2017

And there it is.

Attendees at the 35th J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference described the mood as “optimistic but on edge” and “volatile,” based on the “volatile leader poised to take over the White House.”

The concern was justified.

In an 11 a.m. press conference held in New York on Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump took aim at the biopharma industry on multiple fronts.

Here’s an excerpt from the transcript.

“I think a lot of industries are going to be coming back. We have to get our drug industry coming back. Our drug industry has been disastrous. Leaving left and right. They supply our drugs, they don’t make them here. To a large extent. And the other thing we have to do is create new bidding procedures for the drug industry because they’re getting away with murder. Pharma has a lot of lobbies, a lot of lobbyists and a lot of power. And there’s very little billeting on drugs. We’re the largest buyer of drugs in the world, and yet we don’t bid properly. And we’re going to start bidding and were going to save billions of dollars over a period of time.”

Trump hinted at plans to rein in drug companies during his campaign.

In a December interview as Time Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year,’  Trump told the publication that he didn’t like where the market was heading.

“I’m going to bring down drug prices,” he said.

But they were passing, non-committal comments. Drug pricing was Hillary Clinton’s issue, after all. It didn’t appear to be a top priority for a Trump presidency and biotech stocks rallied when he won.

It’s on the agenda now. This was the first press conference held by the President-elect since the election. And it was damning, quickly reversing biotech stock gains made on Wednesday morning.

Big Pharma was already struggling with a negative outlook for the year, as captured in a breakfast reception tied to the investor conference in San Francisco. This is salt in the wound.

Trump touched on other hot topics during the conference, including Mexico and Russia. But that’s little consolation for drug companies.

In an investor note, Leerink captured the uncertainty felt throughout the industry.

President-elect Trump called out the drug industry for both its OUS manufacturing and supply chain decisions as well as pricing dynamics that limit direct negotiation of drug prices. Without specifics on the kind of changes his administration or the Republican Congress may be planning, we expect this uncertainty to persist until we at least get some specifics

Photo: Spencer Platt, Getty Images

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