President Donald Trump wants to lower U.S. drug costs by linking prices to those paid in other developed countries — connecting the two in a “most favored nation” trading game.
It’s unclear how serious he is — and how feasible the prospect is.
But it was enough to catch the attention of the leaders of two leading advocacy groups for the life science industry: Debbie Hart of BioNJ and Chrissy Buteas of HINJ.
“This concept, which intends to link prescription drug prices that are paid in the United States to those in other nations, is a deeply flawed attempt to enable the government to control prices which economic assessments have shown will not only decimate innovation in the life sciences — but will also essentially mimic policymaking in nations that generate a fraction of the diversity of treatments and cures that American companies have been able to bring to patients,” Hart said.
“As we have over the past few weeks, BioNJ will continue to connect with members of multiple state congressional delegations to convey why this is misguided policymaking and how it will fail to redound to the benefit of anyone other than our nation’s economic competitors who are aggressively pursuing policies to foster innovation in their own life sciences sector rather than inhibit it.”
Buteas agreed.
“This ‘most favored nation’ proposal won’t favor American patients or New Jersey jobs,” she said. “This idea takes parts of socialized health care from other countries and tries to fit them into America’s health care system. This is like putting regular gasoline into a diesel engine. We have the strongest, most robust, and most advanced health care system in the world.
“Putting that European gasoline into an American diesel engine would make it likely the whole thing breaks down.”
Buteas said there are other ways to stand up for the sector.
“The world unfairly freeloads on the American R&D that delivers remarkable new treatments and cures for patients,” she said. “Instead of importing failed socialized medicine policies, we should focus on forcing foreign countries to pay their fair share for the cutting-edge medical advances that America’s global leadership makes possible.”
The executive order also called on federal agencies to investigate why European countries get lower prices and to push them to pay more. The Trump administration has limited leverage to drive up prices in Europe.
“I’m not knocking the drug companies,” Trump said on Monday shortly before signing the order. “I’m really more knocking the countries than the drug companies.”
