Give and Take: Trump Tries to Strike a Deal With Drug Companies

President Trump met with top pharmaceutical company representatives Tuesday.  His goal was fulfilling a campaign promise to lower drug prices.  

The President offered the executives a deal.  He wants them to lower their prices and increase manufacturing in the U.S.  He said in exchange for that, the government would speed-up the time it takes to for a drug to gain approval, release to the marketplace, and loosen some regulations on the companies.

Trump met with the leaders of  pharmaceutical powerhouses Merck, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen and Novartis, among others. A portion of the meeting was televised. 

Trump told them the government was paying "astronomical" prices for medicines in its health programs for the nation's most vulnerable: the poor and the elderly. 

He promised to appoint a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration leader whom he described as "fantastic" and who would would make their lives easier. He added, as a businessman, he understands the roadblocks they've been facing.  

"You can't get approval for the plant, and you can't get approval for the drug. Other than that, you're doing fantastic," the president said, drawing laughter from the drug company execs.   

He praised the pharmaceutical companies' products and said the industry has "produced extraordinary results for our country."

However, he balanced that statement with a declaration that, "We have to get prices down for a lot of reasons."

According to a transcript of the televised portion of the meeting, Amgen's Chief Executive Officer promised to add 1,600 U.S. jobs at his California-based biotechnology company this year.

Celgene, Lilly, Merck and Amgen said by email after the meeting that they were encouraged by Trump's focus on innovation, tax reform and the need for a more value-driven health care system, according to Reuter's.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America lobbying group, which was also at the meeting, said if some of the policies discussed, such as lifting certain regulations, are enacted, it would result in up to 350,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.

"Tax, deregulation...those are things that could really help us expand operations," Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said.