May 12, 2025 • 6 mins
Listen on:
Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i
Watch on: https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured
Chris breaks down Trump’s executive order aimed at lowering U.S. prescription drug prices—and why it likely won’t survive a legal challenge. He explains how Americans bear the brunt of global R&D costs due to foreign price controls and argues that real reform lies in negotiation, not government-mandated price fixing. Markowski draws from his experience in pharmaceutical investment banking to expose the high stakes of drug development and offers potential “Art of the Deal” tactics Trump could use—like restricting pharma ad spending—to push foreign governments to pay their fair share. He warns that true price controls would kill innovation and devastate the industry. www.watchdogonwallstreet.com
Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i
Watch on: https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured
Chris breaks down Trump’s executive order aimed at lowering U.S. prescription drug prices—and why it likely won’t survive a legal challenge. He explains how Americans bear the brunt of global R&D costs due to foreign price controls and argues that real reform lies in negotiation, not government-mandated price fixing. Markowski draws from his experience in pharmaceutical investment banking to expose the high stakes of drug development and offers potential “Art of the Deal” tactics Trump could use—like restricting pharma ad spending—to push foreign governments to pay their fair share. He warns that true price controls would kill innovation and devastate the industry. www.watchdogonwallstreet.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Trump takes on big pharma, and believe it or not, people,
you know, everybody's attributing this tariff stuff and art of
the deal. And I'm calling bs on that here's one
where he can play art of the deal. So again,
what this executive order does that Trump signed, Well, in essence,
(00:38):
it's not going to do anything because it's god. It
won't win, it won't hold up in the court of law.
I'm just telling you that right now, he wants to
bring down prices that we pay for prescription drugs. I
have talked about this on many occasions here on the program.
The fact that we here in the United States of America,
(00:59):
we pay for the R and D costs, the research
and development costs for drugs. You always get this all
the time. More often the left is always complaining about
the high price of pharmaceuticals and going after big pharma
and why do we spend so much more here in
the United States, and I don't pay as much in Canada, here,
there and everywhere. Well, again, we don't have socialized medicine.
(01:21):
We have to pay the research and development costs. Again,
was involved in pharmaceutical investment banking way way way way
back in my younger years. The costs of bringing a
drug to market are extraordinary, extraordinary, and believe it or not,
most don't make it. Most fail. So all of those
(01:43):
development costs, everything that you put into that drug, that treatment,
that medical device goes away. That's just the reality. Why
do you think gres pharmacuy companies world are here in
the United States? Ken, Yeah, we got great institutions here
as well. But also the fact that they pay here.
(02:08):
We have to pay for these drugs. The rest of
the world not so much. Pharmaceuticals go to the NHS
in the UK, and the NHS says, well, this is
all we can pay for the drug, and they just
take it. They just take it. I've always had a
major problem with that. We all should. It's not right,
it's not fair. But anyway, let's say what this to
(02:31):
base over. What this executive order does. The order directs
the US Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce take action
to ensure foreign countries are not engaged in practices that
purposely and unfairly undercut market prices and drive prices hot
hikes in the United States. Now normally Trump would say,
they're just being smart, They're just being smart. The order
(02:53):
instructs the administration to communicate price targets and pharmaceutical manufacturers
to establish that America, the largest purchaser and thunder scription
drugs in the world, gets the best deal. Okay, this
is a kin once again to price controls. Now won
that long ago when a certain candidate for the presidency
(03:18):
by the name of Kamala Harris was suggesting price controls
on food and Donald Trump came out on the campaign
trail and slammeder communist, Marxist.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Everyonee.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Maxine Waters. This is during the W's administration and when
gas prices first went up above three dollars a gallon
and Maxine Waters was threatening to socialize the oil companies
to control prices. Price controls. They don't work. They don't work. However, However,
(03:55):
this is where I think we could be getting into
art of the deal type of stuff with the pharmaceutical companies.
Pharmaceutical companies they want to continue to advertise on TV.
Now that's already been threatened that they're going to start
pulling those ads. Maybe get rid of them. That's just
one of the things that maybe they can push. Is again,
you want to encourage these pharmaceutical companies. Is where you
(04:16):
have a conversation saying, hey, listen, enough's enough here, enough enough.
You're going to have to start forcing these other countries
to pay more for these drugs. You can't. You cannot
let the American people bear the burden of this. And
this is where again, yeah, you know they can pull
(04:37):
or not allow them to put ads on TV. I
don't see how in God's creation this executive order is
going to pass any sort of legal they're going to
file laws, it's going to go away. There's there's no
way it's going to win. You can't do this legally. Again,
it's another executive order doesn't really hold much weight. Not
(04:58):
to mention, we're in the United States of America price
controls Now. I think there's there's an opportunity for a
deal here with big pharma when it comes to this,
and I think that they know that. I think that
they're well aware that this is not going to you know,
any sort of challenge in the courts is going to
(05:19):
knock this thing down. So again, you know, threatening pulling
their ads off TV, whatever it may be. You know,
funding that they get through various different grants and universities
and whatever it may be, threatened to pull some of
that funding as well. There's a myriad of things that
you can do legally rather than say, hey, you know what,
(05:40):
because we're upset, we're upset about the high cost of pharmaceuticals,
we're going to put price controls on. Because if that's
the case, what is going to happen. Companies are not
going to develop drugs anymore. It's going to be too expensive.
They have to have at some point in time to
get you know, their companies they have to make money, right,
and if they're not able to recoup the costs of
(06:02):
the drugs that they're making, well, guess what, they're not
going to make them. They're a business watchdog on Wall
street dot Com.
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Trump takes on big pharma, and believe it or not, people,
you know, everybody's attributing this tariff stuff and art of
the deal. And I'm calling bs on that here's one
where he can play art of the deal. So again,
what this executive order does that Trump signed, Well, in essence,
(00:38):
it's not going to do anything because it's god. It
won't win, it won't hold up in the court of law.
I'm just telling you that right now, he wants to
bring down prices that we pay for prescription drugs. I
have talked about this on many occasions here on the program.
The fact that we here in the United States of America,
(00:59):
we pay for the R and D costs, the research
and development costs for drugs. You always get this all
the time. More often the left is always complaining about
the high price of pharmaceuticals and going after big pharma
and why do we spend so much more here in
the United States, and I don't pay as much in Canada, here,
there and everywhere. Well, again, we don't have socialized medicine.
(01:21):
We have to pay the research and development costs. Again,
was involved in pharmaceutical investment banking way way way way
back in my younger years. The costs of bringing a
drug to market are extraordinary, extraordinary, and believe it or not,
most don't make it. Most fail. So all of those
(01:43):
development costs, everything that you put into that drug, that treatment,
that medical device goes away. That's just the reality. Why
do you think gres pharmacuy companies world are here in
the United States? Ken, Yeah, we got great institutions here
as well. But also the fact that they pay here.
(02:08):
We have to pay for these drugs. The rest of
the world not so much. Pharmaceuticals go to the NHS
in the UK, and the NHS says, well, this is
all we can pay for the drug, and they just
take it. They just take it. I've always had a
major problem with that. We all should. It's not right,
it's not fair. But anyway, let's say what this to
(02:31):
base over. What this executive order does. The order directs
the US Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce take action
to ensure foreign countries are not engaged in practices that
purposely and unfairly undercut market prices and drive prices hot
hikes in the United States. Now normally Trump would say,
they're just being smart, They're just being smart. The order
(02:53):
instructs the administration to communicate price targets and pharmaceutical manufacturers
to establish that America, the largest purchaser and thunder scription
drugs in the world, gets the best deal. Okay, this
is a kin once again to price controls. Now won
that long ago when a certain candidate for the presidency
(03:18):
by the name of Kamala Harris was suggesting price controls
on food and Donald Trump came out on the campaign
trail and slammeder communist, Marxist.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Everyonee.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Maxine Waters. This is during the W's administration and when
gas prices first went up above three dollars a gallon
and Maxine Waters was threatening to socialize the oil companies
to control prices. Price controls. They don't work. They don't work. However, However,
(03:55):
this is where I think we could be getting into
art of the deal type of stuff with the pharmaceutical companies.
Pharmaceutical companies they want to continue to advertise on TV.
Now that's already been threatened that they're going to start
pulling those ads. Maybe get rid of them. That's just
one of the things that maybe they can push. Is again,
you want to encourage these pharmaceutical companies. Is where you
(04:16):
have a conversation saying, hey, listen, enough's enough here, enough enough.
You're going to have to start forcing these other countries
to pay more for these drugs. You can't. You cannot
let the American people bear the burden of this. And
this is where again, yeah, you know they can pull
(04:37):
or not allow them to put ads on TV. I
don't see how in God's creation this executive order is
going to pass any sort of legal they're going to
file laws, it's going to go away. There's there's no
way it's going to win. You can't do this legally. Again,
it's another executive order doesn't really hold much weight. Not
(04:58):
to mention, we're in the United States of America price
controls Now. I think there's there's an opportunity for a
deal here with big pharma when it comes to this,
and I think that they know that. I think that
they're well aware that this is not going to you know,
any sort of challenge in the courts is going to
(05:19):
knock this thing down. So again, you know, threatening pulling
their ads off TV, whatever it may be. You know,
funding that they get through various different grants and universities
and whatever it may be, threatened to pull some of
that funding as well. There's a myriad of things that
you can do legally rather than say, hey, you know what,
(05:40):
because we're upset, we're upset about the high cost of pharmaceuticals,
we're going to put price controls on. Because if that's
the case, what is going to happen. Companies are not
going to develop drugs anymore. It's going to be too expensive.
They have to have at some point in time to
get you know, their companies they have to make money, right,
and if they're not able to recoup the costs of
(06:02):
the drugs that they're making, well, guess what, they're not
going to make them. They're a business watchdog on Wall
street dot Com.
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