Makary: We’re Not Doing Drug Price Controls, We’re Saying We Want Same Prices as Other Countries in OECD

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary argued that the Trump executive order on drug prices isn’t implementing price controls, “because the government is not setting prices. Instead, the government, as the largest purchaser, financially, of these drugs, is saying, if you’re selling these drugs at different prices in wealthy countries, in the OECD countries, we want the same good price that you’re listing in other countries.” And that’s part of negotiations.

Makary said, “These are not price controls, because the government is not setting prices. Instead, the government, as the largest purchaser, financially, of these drugs, is saying, if you’re selling these drugs at different prices in wealthy countries, in the OECD countries, we want the same good price that you’re listing in other countries. So, it is part of the negotiation of getting a good price.”

He continued, “And I think anyone looks at this and says the real — if we could be honest, Americans are just getting ripped off because these companies can and no one has stood up against it, the same with the NATO fees or the W.H.O. membership fees. This president has felt that Americans have been getting ripped off, that the other countries, wealthy countries, have not been paying their fair share. And so, drug pricing is a logical next step in that sort of understanding.”

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