STAT+: Our biggest burning questions on Trump’s order to bring down drug prices
Trump's executive order lacks specifics and raises questions on what can be accomplished, what will be challenged in court.
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s executive order to lower drug prices through sweeping, cross-agency action left leaders in the pharmaceutical industry scrambling Monday to make sense of what may be ahead — and how to respond.
The announcement was long on messaging, but short on details. That may explain why share prices for many pharmaceutical and biotech companies dropped in the hours before the announcement, but gained ground after investors took stock of Trump’s moves.
“This has the feel of a Truth Social post in the form of an executive order,” said Brian Reid of Reid Strategic, a consultant who works with drug companies on pricing and access issues. “It’s a bully pulpit move. There’s no actual instructions on how to use the law to effectuate this. It’s simply a statement that he wants prices to be lower.”
