, Columnist
Allergan Patent Deal Isn't Just Unusual. It's Ugly.
Transferring a drug patent to a tribe to hold onto a monopoly may be legal, but that doesn't mean it's right.
It doesn't look good.
Photographer: Alastair Miller/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Late last year, at a Forbes magazine health-care conference, I heard Brent Saunders, the chief executive of Allergan PLC, talk about drug prices.
He said the drug industry’s reliance on big price increases to generate profits had gotten out of hand. He vowed that Allergan wouldn’t raise prices more than 10 percent a year, and described a patient assistance program that would ensure no one would lack an Allergan medicine because of cost. Saunders called it part of the company’s “social contract” with patients. He sounded downright statesmanlike.