He can shame Pfizer and others, but Trump doesn’t have a practical way to lower drug prices

Even in the boardrooms of Pfizer, they had to have expected President Trump’s Twitter outburst on Monday. If anything, the Pfizer executives set themselves up to be a target.

Let’s look back to the end of May, when Trump promised that some big drug makers would take “voluntary, massive” price cuts in two weeks.

Well, it’s been close to six weeks and, so far, most large brand-name drug makers have not heeded his call, although few companies raised prices by any meaningful amount, either. This is a time of year, after all, when the pharmaceutical industry traditionally increases prices.

Get unlimited access to award-winning journalism and exclusive events.

Subscribe

Log In