Trump rips Pfizer for raising drug prices

President Donald Trump on Monday criticized Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies for raising the list prices on dozens of drugs this month, arguing that the move will harm consumers.

“Pfizer & others should be ashamed that they have raised drug prices for no reason,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “They are merely taking advantage of the poor & others unable to defend themselves, while at the same time giving bargain basement prices to other countries in Europe & elsewhere. We will respond!”

Trump’s tweet came days after the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that Pfizer had raised prices on dozens of prescription drugs, including Viagra, Norvasc blood-pressure medication and lung cancer drug Xalkori. The list prices for many of the drugs are up “by double-digit percentages,” according to the Journal.

For Pfizer, increases were applied to more than 100 prescription drugs on July 1, according to the Financial Times.

Pfizer shares fell slightly after Trump’s tweet, but were mostly flat in trading as of Monday afternoon.

"The list price remains unchanged for the majority of our medicines. Our portfolio includes more than 400 medicines and vaccines; we are modifying prices for approximately 10% of these, including some instances where we’re decreasing the price," Pfizer said in a statement obtained by The Hill.

Aside from Pfizer, Trump has singled out other companies, including Amazon and Harley-Davidson, for their business practices in recent weeks.