LETTER: Kudos to Trump for drug price executive order
President Donald Trump recently proposed a plan to lower prescription drug costs. I applaud him. Unfortunately, the big pharmaceutical companies will oppose this and try to convince Congress and the public it is bad public policy. They will claim that the reduced revenue will diminish funds necessary for research and development on new medications.
Their arguments are spurious and should be ignored.
An October 2021 study from America’s Health Insurance Plans national association found that seven of 10 of the largest pharmaceutical companies by revenue spent more on sales and marketing in 2020 than on R&D.
In fact, the United States is one of only two countries that allow direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals, according to recent analysis by the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing. As a 2023 Forbes column highlights, direct-to-consumer advertising contributes to “the (over)use of higher-cost drugs over generics and less expensive alternatives.”
Pharmaceutical companies can lower the price of their products and redirect the billions they spend on advertising to maintain their R&D efforts. Our doctors should advise us on medications, not television ads.
