Senator Hawley: “No sympathy for Big Pharma!” over Trump’s executive orders that work to bring down sky-high drug prices
08/12/2020 // Michael Alexander // Views

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley says he has no sympathy toward major pharmaceutical corporations that continue to charge Americans outrageous prices for essential medicines, adding that he is glad that President Donald Trump is finally standing up to them.

Hawley, a staunch Republican, made the remarks during his appearance on The Ingraham Angle over at Fox News.

“I have no sympathy for big pharma whatsoever,” Hawley said, after the show’s host, conservative pundit Laura Ingraham, asked him about his thoughts on President Trump’s recent executive orders demanding drug manufacturers lower their prices.

Ingraham, earlier in the segment, also aired a clip from Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who, in an earnings call, noted that he is “disappointed” at President Trump’s newest executive orders.

“I'm disappointed by these executive orders. They pose enormous destruction at a time where the industry needs to be completely focused on developing a potential COVID-19 vaccine or treatment,” Bourla said, adding that while Pfizer has current plans to invest in both research and development and manufacturing in the United States, the pharmaceutical giant will be “forced” to rethink those plans because of the new executive orders.

Hawley, however, was not moved.

“In my home state of Missouri they’re charging people three, four and five times more than they’re charging folks in France and Germany and Canada and I’m glad that the President is standing up to them,” Hawley said.

The executive orders, which President Trump signed in late July, would allow certain drugs to be imported from Canada, as well as make changes to the way discounts negotiated by pharmacy benefit managers are passed on to Medicare patients.

Brighteon.TV

The orders also require Medicare to pay the same price for some drugs – the ones patients receive in the hospital as part of Medicare Part B – that other countries pay.

This is a welcome development, Hawley said, noting that this could spell the end for the abusive policies that allow major pharmaceutical companies to gain profit by overcharging patients.

“This Big Pharma-Big Government alliance has been great for Big Pharma, they’ve made a killing, these past few years – really for decades – and it's really time they started putting patients first,” the senator stressed.

According to Hawley, however, one of the most important developments to be spurred by President Trump’s new executive orders – aside from merely regulating the prices set by pharmaceutical companies – is that the United States is taking the first few steps to once again start to manufacture pharmaceutical products, in reference to the $765 million government loan offered to Kodak, which, under the Defense Production Act (DPA), will allow the company to expand into a new sector – in this case, the production of ingredients for generic drugs.

The deal with Kodak is now under review.

“It is important that we manufacture as many pharmaceutical products as we can in this country,” Hawley said, noting that this is a good step toward independence from foreign supply chains, particularly that of China. (Related: Trump signs executive order to bring pharmaceutical manufacturing back to the United States.)

“We are deeply dependent on foreign supply chains so I think it is incumbent to look at all the options for bringing those supply chains back, for getting medical production back in this country,” the senator added.

Earlier this year, Hawley introduced the Medical Supply Chain Security Act, which, according to his office, can help secure the U.S. medical product supply chain.

"The medical supply chain act will work to require that manufacturers report imminent or foretasted shortages of life-saving or life-sustaining medical devices to the FDA just as they currently do for pharmaceutical drugs," Hawley’s office said.

In addition, Hawley has also questioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about their efforts to mitigate potential drug and medical device shortages in the United States.

WATCH:

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

NPR.org

NYPost.com

TheHill.com

Hawley.Senate.gov



Take Action:
Support Natural News by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NaturalNews.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.
App Store
Android App
eTrust Pro Certified

This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2022 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
Natural News uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.