Key Takeaways
- PhRMA CEO Stephen Ubl said the industry embraces disruptors like President Donald Trump, while Pfizer CEO Bourla said the opportunities with the administration outweighs the risks.
- The industry has kept quiet about recent actions that could negatively impact the sector and embraced Trump as a pro-business candidate.
- The industry's unwillingness to go after Trump contrasts with lines against racist and anti-democratic actions that executives drew during Trump's first term.
The pharmaceutical industry sees President Donald Trump as a boon for business after four years of hits under Joe Biden, despite the wave of health sector disruptions that has occurred in just the first few weeks of Trump’s term.
When major drug company executives and industry leadership gathered in Washington, DC 18 February to kick off the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) annual board meeting with a public summit, there was almost no discussion of the chaos that has hit the US health sector since Trump took office. Companies' first quarter earnings calls had a similar dynamic.
US Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services layoffs, along with other disruptions to the agencies’ work, threats of huge tariffs on imported pharma products, continued funding challenges at the National Institutes of Health, and an-anti-pharma Health and Human Services Secretary installed and ready to go after vaccines and obesity drugs among other medicines is not fazing PhRMA. (See sidebar.)
Instead, the group sees Trump as a solution to industry problems, such as Medicare drug price negotiations, that were created by the past administration.
PhRMA CEO: Industry Embraces Disruptors Like Trump
“Unfortunately the political agenda the past four years has undermined” the pillars of a strong pharma ecosystem in the US, causing patients to suffer the consequences, said PhRMA CEO Stephen Ubl. “Government price controls, however, manifested, are a bad deal that reduce patient access and lead to fewer cures, but Congress can address some of the flaws of the [Inflation Reduction Act].”
Ubl called on the federal government to fix “the pill penalty” that gives biologics more years on the market before they can be subject to price negotiation than small molecules. He also pushed for pharmacy benefit management and 340B drug pricing program reform.
“From where I sit, the prospects for bold, meaningful change has never been greater,” Ubl said. “We have a disruptor in chief in President Trump, a new HHS Secretary both committed to overturning the status quo.”
“We embrace disruptions because we are disruptors. We see an opportunity to fix what’s broken, to get more impact out of every health care dollar we spend and to make America healthier by launching a new era of medical innovation,” he added.
Ubl’s speech referenced the importance of a “transparent and efficient regulator like the FDA,” which he called “the gold standard around the world.” But he made no clear connection to the agency’s recent layoffs or new limitations that could impact companies.
The comment also was the only reference to the industry’s need for a strong FDA during the three-hour event. PhRMA declined to formally comment on the weekend’s FDA job cuts.
Pfizer’s Bourla: Opportunities Outweigh Risks Under Trump
Pfizer Inc. CEO Albert Bourla, who became chair of PhRMA’s Board of Directors on 19 February, was similarly critical of the Biden Administration and optimistic about the industry’s prospects under Trump.
Bourla attacked Biden’s implementation of Medicare price negotiations, along with his more aggressive anti-trust policies and efforts to harm intellectual property protections.
In contrast, Bourla said he is optimistic about the future under Trump.
“They are bringing radical change that’s clear,” he said. “That is changing the status quo very rapidly. As a result, risk and opportunities will emerge.”
“I truly believe the that opportunities clearly outweigh the risks because this is an administration to start with that they believe that strong business, strong private sector, strong entrepreneurship makes America great,” he added. “That was not the case with the previous administration.”
“This administration has a boldness,” Bourla said, saying it acts quickly after deciding to make a move.
Bourla acknowledged the Trump administration is not likely to do “something bold” with vaccines, but said he believes officials could be convinced to take bold steps in areas like cancer or cardiovascular disease.
“By focusing our partnership into the right ways … I think we can see in the next four years the significant medical innovation that the society asks for,” Bourla said.
Bourla did not mention that Trump’s new Federal Trade Commission chair already plans to continue enforcing Biden’s merger guidance, saying stability is good for the agency. The FTC issued the statement hours before Bourla’s speech.
Bourla also failed to mention that Trump empowered Kennedy to probe the drug industry in ways that could touch more than vaccines.
Kennedy often criticizes pharma’s blockbuster new obesity drugs.
And the Trump administration has said it will continue the Medicare drug price negotiation program. Lowering drug prices has long been a populist issue for Trump.
No Ken Frazier
The industry’s current attitude stands in contrast to its willingness to go after Trump in the past.
Merck & Co. Inc.’s former CEO Ken Frazier resigned from Trump’s first term American Jobs Advisory Council after Trump praised white nationalists following a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, VA.
“I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism,” Frazier said at the time.
Frazier continued to speak out against structural racism in the US during Trump’s first term. Other pharmaceutical companies also spoke out and put more resources into health equity and diversity work in the wake of the 2020 police murder of George Floyd, which sparked massive protests throughout the country.
The pharma industry also took steps to reassess their political donations in the wake of the 6 January 2021 riots at the US Capitol where Trump supporters tried to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election results and keep him in power. The industry wanted to be clear that it stood up for democracy.
Despite an arguably more racist and anti-democratic administration this time around, pharma has been quiet.
Trump’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion policies are considered major rollbacks of U.S. civil rights gains. His administration has also taken aim at transgender people, immigrants and refugees.
In 2025, the actions do not appear to be dealbreakers for the pharmaceutical industry. Instead some companies are actually backing away from diversity work.
Industry also is no longer afraid to donate to Trump despite his current administration making many anti-democratic moves, including ignoring laws passed by Congress.