How Trump Can Tackle Inflated Drug Prices
AllergyKids founder Robyn O’Brien on how President-elect Trump’s proposed policies will impact big pharmaceutical companies.
President-elect Donald Trump sent pharmaceutical stocks tumbling last week after saying companies were “getting away with murder” while speaking about inflated drug prices.
Earlier this year, EpiPen-maker Mylan was thrust into the spotlight for hiking the price of its prized drug. The cost of the EpiPen spiked to $600, up from $100 in 2007.
Robyn O’Brien, founder of AllergyKids, joined the FOX Business Network to discuss how President-elect Trump can begin to tackle these types of issues in the healthcare sector.
“You gotta step back and you gotta say ‘are they all bad, is it a systemic problem, or do we have a few really bad apples like Mylan?,’” said O’Brien.
O’Brien, who is referred to as the “Erin Brockovich of food allergies,” said there needs to be more disruption and more transparency in the pharmaceutical sector.
“Right now we spend $3.2 trillion a year in healthcare and disease management and the system is so broken,” she said. “If we can bring a transparency to that model, if we can bring in accountability to that model so that we get the best products on the market.”
Additionally, O’Brien said that the pursuit for lower drug prices doesn’t need to be political.
“Cancer, food allergies, autism—they do not care what side of the aisle we are on,” she stated. “This is one of the most patriotic things that we can be fighting for… the health of our country. Our military is contingent on it, our economy is contingent on it, the success of our country is contingent on the health of its citizens.”