Novartis, the Swiss drugmaker, said Wednesday that it would not raise prices on its products in the United States for the rest of 2018, joining Pfizer, which delayed its increases last week after President Trump singled out the company for criticism.
Novartis’s chief executive, Vas Narasimhan, said during an earnings call with investors that the company had made the decision in June, amid escalating outrage over high drug prices. “We thought that was prudent, given the dynamic environment we’re currently in,” he said.
I'm always surprised at how cowardly and venal these "leaders of industry" actually turn out to be.
Good for Trump to bully them on our behalf. You can be sure a President Hillary or President Sanders wouldn't do that, as they'd be happily accepting big donations from the big drug companys instead.
We don't need a freeze; we need about a 75% roll-back.
ReplyDeleteX2 with Georges (above) but there's nothing wrong with a freeze. President Trump doesn't want their money and that screws up the whole deep state thing in a big way. Business as usual and the gravy train has run off the rails. It's no wonder that the politicians and their allies in the corrupt, lying, smug, sly, wicked, elite mainstream media hate President Trump.
ReplyDeleteNow about EPI-Pens, Joe Manchin, and the cute little arrangement his family has with the manufacturer.
ReplyDeleteMy diabetes meds are $450 with insurance for 1 month supply. My cousin picks a month's supply up for $62 in Juarez Mexico with when he picks up his meds.
ReplyDeleteI have Chronic Myeloid Leukemia CML. It's a gene thing that is slow "growing" and used to have a life expectancy of about 2 years. But, with the newer medication (Gleevec by Novartis) the oncologist said I could see another 10 years. Well after 2 years of treatment using Gleevec; my bio-markers are nil. But, I still have to take the med; because the condition is genetic.
ReplyDeleteGuess how much that med costs per month.....are you sitting down.... $11,000 per month......yep you read that right $11,000 per month.
Yeah, I know it sounds wrong and it is; morally. Novartis was the only manufacturer of that medication.
Now here is the interesting part. If I use my insurance to pay for it; my copay is $500 per month. If I use the manufacturer medication "help" card from their web site.....I only pay $10 per month.
So, WTF!?!?!?? How come the difference?!!?!?
And yes I know that the med came off patent last year and there are generics available. But, not for $10 per month.
Steve