Related: Studies say Americans spend more on healthcare
Last week, it was reported that Pfizer had increased the prices of its many drugs, including Viagra. Apart from Pfizer, few other pharma companies also have increased their drug prices this year. Meanwhile, pharma companies defend the price increases citing the high research costs involved in producing drugs.
According to National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the total US prescription sales in 2017 has increased 1.7% year-over-year to $455.9 billion and total drug expenditures are projected to grow 3-5% in 2018.
After Trump’s tweet, shares of Pfizer dropped suddenly and rebounded in the afternoon session and ended the day with a slight increase (+0.1%). Other pharma sector stocks namely, Merck (MRK -0.3%), Eli Lilly (LLY +0.6%), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ +0.2%) and Novartis (NVS +0.4%) didn’t move much either way. Until Trump announces some concrete measures to regulate the drug prices, pharma companies will not get affected and they will continue to enjoy the present situation.