Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla is expected to attend a fundraiser for President Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The event aims to raise $25 million. However, the meeting comes at an interesting time, as President Trump has been putting pressure on pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, to lower drug prices in the US. Just a day before the fundraiser, the President sent letters to 17 drug companies, including Pfizer, demanding that they lower prices to match those in other countries.
The letters asked the companies to commit to selling drugs at “most favored nation” rates, which would mean that the US would pay the same price as the country with the lowest price for a particular drug. The President has been pushing for this change, signing an executive order in May that told federal officials to draw up regulations to achieve this goal unless the pharmaceutical companies made progress on their own.
President Trump has been vocal about his efforts to lower drug prices, saying that he has “gone to war” with the pharmaceutical companies and other countries on the issue. He claims that he will be successful in bringing down prices by as much as 1,200 percent. The high cost of prescription drugs has been a long-standing issue in the US, with both parties proposing solutions over the years.
The pharmaceutical industry has pushed back against the idea of price caps, arguing that they could discourage innovation and make it harder to fund research and development for new drugs. However, the President is determined to make a change, and his meeting with Bourla and other pharmaceutical executives will likely be closely watched.
Bourla has a history of engaging with President Trump, having worked with him on the development of COVID-19 vaccines through the “Operation Warp Speed” program. He also met with the President at Mar-A-Lago two weeks before his second inauguration. The meeting between the two will be interesting, given the President’s recent demands for lower drug prices. CBS News has reached out to Pfizer and the White House for comment on the matter.