
Novartis Will Freeze Drug Prices Through End of 2018, CEO Says
The Swiss drug maker is the second pharmaceutical company to announce a halt to price hikes, coming after Pfizer's decision last week to reverse planned increases.
Swiss drug maker Novartis said early Wednesday it does not plan to raise prices through the end of the year, as it talks with US health officials about the Trump administration's plan to cut what consumers pay for prescription drugs.
The announcement came as part of the company’s second quarter earnings call. CEO Vasant Narasimhan said that
Pfizer announced
Narasimhan told Reuters that while he had not spoken with Trump directly, company officials were having conversations with HHS about the blueprint and how it would affect the drug maker. Of note, the administration has said it wants to promote manufacturing of generics and biosimilar; Novartis’ generic unit, Sandoz has been under pricing pressure.
Monday was the deadline
Narasimhan said the pricing freeze had nothing to do with fallout over reports that the company’s previous CEO paid Trump attorney Michael Cohen $1.2 million for insights on the administration’s healthcare positions in the year after the 2016 election. Cohen is now under
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