That could have been worse
NOT PICTURED: PFIZER CEO ALBERT BOURLA'S DIPLOMATIC LAPEL PIN. (PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/AP)
Senators huffed, puffed, and invoked "The Lord of the Rings," but yesterday’s hearing on drug prices amounted to little in the way of heated debate of sound-byte villainy.
As STAT’s Lev Facher reports, the seven pharma executives called to testify mostly stuck to the industry’s well-defined counterarguments when it comes to the cost of medicines. Science is expensive; the supply chain is complex; and “list prices” aren’t what you think they are.
The lack of sturm or drang may come as a disappointment to anyone who expected a congressional shouting match. At the outset, Sen. Ron Wyden, the panel’s top Democrat, drew a comparison to the famous 1994 hearings that brought Big Tobacco to heel, but nothing so dramatic ensued.
How did those seven executives hold up to scrutiny? Here’s Matt Herper and Nicholas Florko on pharma’s meddle on the Hill.
As STAT’s Lev Facher reports, the seven pharma executives called to testify mostly stuck to the industry’s well-defined counterarguments when it comes to the cost of medicines. Science is expensive; the supply chain is complex; and “list prices” aren’t what you think they are.
The lack of sturm or drang may come as a disappointment to anyone who expected a congressional shouting match. At the outset, Sen. Ron Wyden, the panel’s top Democrat, drew a comparison to the famous 1994 hearings that brought Big Tobacco to heel, but nothing so dramatic ensued.
How did those seven executives hold up to scrutiny? Here’s Matt Herper and Nicholas Florko on pharma’s meddle on the Hill.
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