Page 25 - aruba-today-20170308
P. 25
BUSINESS A25
Wednesday 8 March 2017
Drugmakers fall as investors see pricing threat from Trump
MARLEY JAY A pharmacist holds a package of EpiPens epinephrine auto-injector, a Mylan product, in Sac- and since Trump’s elec-
LINDA A. JOHNSON ramento, Calif. Up went the tweet, and down went drug company stocks. Just before the stock tion. They’ve proposed let-
AP Business Writers market opened on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he is working on “a new system” to ting patients import medi-
NEW YORK (AP) — Up went reduce prices. cines from Canada, where
the tweet, and down went government price controls
drug company stocks. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) keep costs much lower,
Just before the stock mar- and allowing the federal
ket opened on Tuesday, “We certainly lack the un- Some of the biggest loss- maceuticals, also traded Medicare plan to negoti-
President Donald Trump derstanding of what he es Tuesday went to bio- lower. Several generic ate prices for the drugs it
said he is working on “a wants to do,” said Les Funt- technology companies, drugmakers are under buys for seniors.
new system” to reduce leyder, health care portfo- which make drugs that are scrutiny over allegations But bills containing those
prices. He also said he’ll lio manager for E Squared complicated to engineer of price-fixing. Democrats ideas haven’t gone any-
bring “competition” to the Asset Management. “He and can be extremely ex- and a few Republicans in where. That’s mainly be-
drug industry. It’s not the keeps making conflicting pensive. Companies that Congress have some ideas cause of opposition from
first time comments from statements it’s hard to re- make generic drugs, gen- that are aimed at reining Congressional Republi-
Trump have had a big ef- ally pin him down.” erally the least costly phar- in drug prices, both before cans and pressure from the
fect on pharmaceutical pharmaceutical industry,
stocks: he hasn’t gotten which is among the top
into specifics and investors spenders on lobbying Con-
aren’t sure how committed gress.
he is to doing something. Top drugmakers have ar-
In January Trump accused gued for years that any
drugmakers of “getting type of price controls
away with murder” on drug would crimp innovation
prices, and pharmaceuti- because research is so ex-
cal and biotech stocks fell pensive. Their trade groups
sharply. Less than three are running tear-jerker ad
weeks later, he held an ap- campaigns touting how
parently friendly sit-down new drugs help patients
with industry executives at with awful diseases.
the White House and said Patients and politicians
he wants to speed up the have blasted drugmakers
drug approval process, over soaring drug prices
which could bring costs in the past, but this round
down for drug companies. of criticism is more intense
The stocks moved higher and it has lasted almost
afterward. two years. q
Saudi energy minister keeping close eye on US oil producers
AP Business Writer much of the OPEC cuts by producers, like non-OPEC Tuesday, while the global worse shape economical-
HOUSTON (AP) — Saudi pumping oil from shale for- Russia, have fallen short. benchmark traded just ly, the Saudis too feel the
Arabia’s energy minister mations, al-Falih says he is “Some have not lived up to above $56. Saudi Arabia pinch. The kingdom needs
says OPEC production watching the U.S. produc- expectations,” al-Falih said, is the world’s biggest pro- the money to pay for social
cuts are working to bolster ers closely. OPEC, whose “but as a whole if you look ducer and is carrying the programs, raising questions
crude prices and his coun- members account for at the totality the agree- heaviest load of produc- about how long and how
try will look at whether about one-third of global ment is working well.” tion cuts. While other OPEC low it will go with produc-
other oil-producing nations oil output, agreed to cut Oil prices have stabilized members such as Venezu- tion cuts, which expire in
are living up to their prom- production beginning in above $50 a barrel — a ela and Nigeria are in far July.q
ises to curtail pumping be- January by 1.2 million bar- rebound from early 2016,
fore deciding whether to rels a day. Other countries when they plunged below
extend the cutbacks be- joined in, pushing the total $30 a barrel — although
yond this summer. Khalid to nearly 1.8 million barrels. some analysts had expect-
al-Falih expressed no great By independent accounts, ed closer to $60. The U.S.
alarm Tuesday about the those targets have mostly benchmark traded around
recovery in American oil been met, although some $53.30 a barrel at midday
output since crude prices
began rebounding in early
2016, although he indicat-
ed surprise at how quickly it
bounced back. The Energy
Department said Tuesday
that U.S. production aver-
aged 8.9 million barrels a
day last year, and it fore-
cast increases to 9.2 million
barrels a day this year and
9.7 million — a possible re-
cord — in 2018. In a nod to
America’s ability to offset
