On Wednesday, January 11, 2017, President-Elect Donald Trump held a news conference in New York; a conference that was held out for weeks to be the time when the country could expect learn what he would be doing with his vast real estate and other investment holdings.
Vice President-Elect Mike Pence
Vice President-Elect Mike Pence spoke first, noting that President Elect Trump has “brought together men and women of extraordinary capability at a historic pace in this cabinet.” He continued, noting that “nineteen of the twenty-one cabinet officials have been announced, nine committee hearings already scheduled, seven more soon to go on the books in the next several days…”
President Elect Donald Trump
President Elect Trump started discussing what he has already accomplished, especially with respect to keeping jobs in America in the automobile industry, mentioning Ford, Fiat Chrysler, and possibly General Motors as companies who have announced keeping jobs in America. After that President-elect Trump discussed the pharmaceutical industry.
Pharmaceutical Industry Comments
Quoting President Trump,
We’ve got to get our drug industry back. Our drug industry has been disastrous. They’re leaving left and right. They supply our drugs, but 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, pharma has a lot of lobbies and a lot of lobbyists and a lot of power and there’s very little bidding 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 we’re going to save billions of dollars over a period of time.
President-elect Trump pledged to overhaul the pharmaceutical industry during his campaign. During the campaign, he expressed his desire to crack down on high drug prices and even endorsed the concept of Medicare negotiating drug prices.
Reaction to Comments
His remarks today won him an unlikely ally, Bernie Sanders, who said during a Senate floor speech that President-elect Trump was “exactly right.”
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) President Stephen Ubl said, “Medicines are purchased in a competitive marketplace where large, sophisticated purchasers aggressively negotiate lower prices.” He said the industry is “committed to working with President-elect Trump and Congress to improve American competitiveness and protect American jobs.”