PhRMA rejects Trump election gambit, triggering most favored nation order

Seeking to avoid the perception that it was intervening in the U.S. presidential election, PhRMA’s board last week rejected a proposal from the Trump administration to include Medicare Part D gift cards in a drug pricing deal. The rejection torpedoed a deal the industry had negotiated with the White House, triggering President Donald Trump’s decision to issue a “most favored nation” drug pricing executive order.

The PhRMA board had approved a deal that would have reduced drug costs by about $125 billion over a decade. The trade group believed it was close to coming to agreement with the Trump administration, PhRMA sources told BioCentury. ...