Sun, 26 Jan 2025

Pharma is hopeful about Trump's second term — here's what to expect for drugmakers

Drugmakers hope to see efforts that focus more on cracking down on pharmacy benefit managers while promoting drug innovation and patient access to treatments.
1. Price negotiations with Medicare: The article mentions that some pharmaceutical companies are negotiating prices for their drugs as part of the Medicare price negotiation program. 2. HHS Confirmation Process: The confirmation process of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is discussed, particularly his history of making misleading statements about vaccines and its potential impact on vaccination rates in the US. 3. Impact of RFK Jr.'s Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric: Pfizer's Bourla expresses concerns that RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine rhetoric could lead to lower U.S. vaccination rates for certain diseases, potentially resulting in epidemics. 4. Focus on Chronic Diseases: The article mentions that some pharmaceutical companies are aligned with Kennedy's goal of tackling chronic diseases in the US as part of his "Make America Health Again" platform, which emphasizes changing U.S. food policy to combat these diseases. 5. Obesity Medications and Payment: Eli Lilly's CEO Ricks notes that making America healthy again is what the company does every day and expresses a willingness to work with the Trump administration to expand access to obesity medications, particularly Eli Lilly’s drug Zepbound. 6. Price Talks on Similar Drugs: PhRMA points out that all drugs with the same active ingredient should not be included in price talks when they are approved under different names for different uses. This was illustrated last week when Novo Nordisk's weight loss drug Wegovy, diabetes treatment Ozempic, and another diabetes drug Rybelsus were selected as one product for the price talks since they share the same active ingredient. 7. Kennedy's Platform: The article mentions that Kennedy has a particular emphasis on changing U.S. food policy to combat chronic diseases in his "Make America Health Again" platform.
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