Health care lobbyists in Washington said they were caught by
surprise and had no idea what Trump was talking about.
"You're going to have some big news. I think we're going to have
some of the big drug companies in two weeks said they're going to
announce, because of what we did, they're going to announce
voluntary massive drops in prices," Trump said at a signing ceremony
for a new law making it easier for seriously ill people to try
experimental treatments.
A Health and Human Services Department (HHS) spokeswoman said the
agency had nothing else to share on Trump's comments because it
didn't want to get ahead of any announcements.
Earlier this month, Trump unveiled the administration's plan to
lower prescription drug prices, largely through regulatory
authority, calling it "the most sweeping action in history" to
reduce the cost of medicines for consumers.
But healthcare stocks rose as it became clear his administration
avoided aggressive direct measures to cut prices.
HHS has yet to issue any new regulations or pilot programs to lower
drug prices based on the new plan.
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The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index <.DRG>, comprised of major
drugmakers, fell about a quarter of a percent just after Trump's
comments on Wednesday. But it steadily recovered and closed up 1.6
percent, while the broader S&P 500 Index closed up 1.3 percent.
It is exceedingly rare for drug companies to lower prices prior to
facing competition from cheap generics.
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Amid increased public and Congressional criticism over high drug
prices, some companies pledged to voluntarily limit annual price
increases to less than 10 percent. Previously, many drugmakers
typically raised prices on prescription medicines twice a year,
adding up to well over 10 percent.
As public pressure mounted, drug companies have blamed middlemen,
including pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and health insurers, for
not passing discounts and rebates they demand off high list prices
to consumers.
PBMs and insurers have said they are part of the solution for
lowering costs and blame pricing on drugmakers.
Trump campaigned on lowering drug prices and has said that
pharmaceutical companies were "getting away with murder," but has
since backed off that rhetoric.
PhRMA and BIO, the major lobby groups for the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industries, did not respond to requests for comment on
Trump's statement. Several drugmakers contacted by Reuters did not
return calls seeking comment.
(Reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb and Steve Holland; Editing by Chizu
Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot)
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