July 4 (UPI) — Pfizer raised prices on dozens of drugs this week, despite a promise from President Donald Trump that drug prices would be lowered.
Many of the price increases raise costs by more than 10 percent. Some of the drugs affected by the price increases include Xalkori, a lung cancer treatment, Norvasc blood pressure pills and Lyrica pain pills, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Viagra, for erectile dysfunction, and Chantix, a pill to help stop smoking, were also included in the list.
“The list price remains unchanged for the majority of our medicines. We are modifying prices for about 10 percent of our medicines, including some instances where we’re decreasing the price,” Pfizer said in a statement.
In May, President Donald Trump said drug companies would begin lowering prices.
“I think we’re going to have some of the big drug companies, in two weeks, they’re going to announce because of what we did, they’re going to announce voluntary massive drops in prices,” Trump said at the time.
But there hasn’t been any announcement of drug price reductions and, in addition to Pfizer, several smaller drug companies announced raises on drugs this week, as well.
Pfizer Chief Executive Ian Read has been critical of the Trump administration’s stance that drugs are too expensive and, back in May, he said insurance companies have raised the prices of deductibles and co-pays, which makes it too difficult for patients to afford their medicines.
“It’s not drug pricing that’s the problem, it’s drug affordability — that’s the problem,” Read said at the time.
