{"id":2300,"date":"2017-08-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pharma-mkting.comindex.php\/2017\/08\/15\/pinup081517\/"},"modified":"2019-02-06T02:14:47","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T02:14:47","slug":"pinup081517","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ec2-54-175-84-28.compute-1.amazonaws.com\/pharma-mkting.com\/articles\/news\/pinup081517\/","title":{"rendered":"PinUp: Hey Big Pharma, It’s OK to Take On Trump, Says Stock Market After Merck CEO Frazier Exits the Tent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pharma Industry News Update<\/b>: 15 August 2017<\/p>\n\n

“I’m Outta Here!” Says Merck CEO Frazier<\/p>\n


He Quits Trump Advisory Council in “Stand Against Intolerance and Extremism.” J&J’s Alex Gorsky Remains on Board.<\/b><\/p>\n

[From www.wsj.com] The head of U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co. has resigned from a manufacturing advisory council to the Trump administration in an apparent protest of the president’s failure to condemn in stronger terms the white supremacists who marched and waged violence in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Merck issued a statement Monday morning on Twitter from Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Frazier, saying, “America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal.’<\/p>\n

“As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism,” Mr. Frazier said in the statement.<\/p>\n

Almost an hour later, Mr. Trump posted on Twitter: “Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President’s Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!”<\/p>\n

More…<\/a><\/p>\n

Comments from STAT<\/p>\n

Remember way back in January, when leaders from tech and biotech were calling out President Trump and pharma stayed silent in apparent fear of a 140-character reprisal? Well, a pharma CEO (implicitly) rebuked the president yesterday. And the Trump tweet came, followed by another.\u00a0And then nothing happened.<\/p>\n

That’s despite Trump’s castigation of “RIPOFF DRUG PRICES” (emphasis original) and comes in stark contrast to the market’s response to that old line about evading punishment for homicide. Back then, investors had plenty of reason to fear an Oval Office-led crackdown on drug prices. Now, after so many unanswered cries of wolf, the duly elected president of the United States has become a paper tiger in the eyes of biopharma investors.<\/p>\n

Now we’ll see whether Johnson & Johnson’s Alex Gorsky, who was on the same presidential panel, follows suit. So far, J&J’s not responding to that very question.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Further Reading:<\/b><\/p>\n