Pfizer Caving to Trump Has Wall Street Asking Who's Next
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Pfizer’s decision to delay planned drug price hikes after President Trump attacked the company on Twitter may cause another shakeout throughout the health-care industry. Analysts at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and SunTrust expect other drugmakers will have to show more restraint on price increases, and say drug distributors may also find themselves under pressure. Height Capital Markets earlier cautioned about the risk to pharmacy-benefit managers, saying that Pfizer’s move ups the ante for the White House to propose policy changes on the use of rebates.
The S&P 500 Health Care Index fell as much as 0.8 percent on Wednesday, snapping an eight-day winning streak. Drug distributors were among the biggest decliners.