STAT+: Trump’s drug-pricing order takes a hard line against pharma. Investors shrugged
President Trump unveiled his plan to dramatically overhaul the way the U.S. pays for drugs. Pharma investors didn't seem to care.
President Trump on Monday unveiled his plan to dramatically overhaul the way the U.S. pays for drugs by lowering what he calls “inflated” prices to those paid by other countries. Pharma investors didn’t seem to care.
The XBI, a closely tracked index of biotech stocks, was up over 4% by midday, while shares of large pharma companies also rose.
Despite concerns that a so-called “most-favored nation” policy could roil the drug industry if enacted, the market moves suggest investors had already baked in expectations that Trump would announce the policy and are skeptical that he can successfully implement it, in large part because of expected legal challenges and political obstacles.
