President-elect Trump hosted the chief executives of Pfizer, Eli Lilly and PhRMA Wednesday night at Mar-a-Lago, where they discussed how the public and private sectors can collaborate on finding cures for cancer, among other topics, Axios has learned.
The patio dinner is a potential indication that Trump's administration will see the pharmaceutical industry as a partner — not just an adversary — for parts of its "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.
There's been much speculation about how Trump's team will deal with the industry, given Trump's tough talk during the campaign and his pick of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary.
Last month, drugmakers' share prices dropped after Trump announced the nomination of Kennedy, who was at Wednesday's dinner along with Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump's pick to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Lilly CEO David Ricks were at the dinner. Steve Ubl, CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represented the industry at the table. Trump's incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, also attended.
In his first term, Trump worked in concert with the private sector as part of Operation Warp Speed to accelerate the development and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.
But drugmakers are still reeling from Democrats' new law allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of drugs. During the presidential campaign, both President Biden and Trump promised even harsher crackdowns on the industry.
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