One of the most worrying issues in regard to US healthcare is that the cost of treatment and therapeutics is unreasonably high – often to the point when care is unaffordable to many Americans. With the US often paying significantly more for drugs than other developed countries, how to achieve pricing parity is often the question. To this end, President Trump’s recently released executive order may sound promising; however, it is unclear if and how this policy will be implemented, and perhaps – more importantly – how the drug industry will respond, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Michael Breen. PhD, Director of Infectious Diseases and Ophthalmology at GlobalData, comments: “That the US pays more for drugs than other countries is unquestionable and must be addressed. However, addressing this in any meaningful way has invariably resulted in failure. This is a highly nuanced issue that involves multiple players; bringing everyone to the table and getting a result with which all parties are satisfied is a challenging proposition.

“Complicating Trump’s order further, it is unclear exactly how and when it will be implemented. Considering that the timing of the announcement falls so close to an election raises concerns that the order is being rolled out for optics and influence, with less emphasis on execution of the order and its overall impact.

“It is difficult to envision the pharma industry not pushing back against this with a rapid legal challenge. The legality of this order is unclear and impossible to predict given the lack of clarity surrounding its underpinnings. It is possible that this order will never become fully realized, leaving little if any impact on the industry save for yet more unfulfilled promises to lower drug prices.”