The pharmaceutical industry is now the most poorly regarded industry in the U.S., claiming last place in Gallup's latest poll that asks American's for their views on 25 industries.
Other industries measured in the poll include oil and gas, real estate, automobile and the federal government. Pharma ranked below all of these, receiving its lowest rating since 2001, when Gallup started the poll.
The poll found that 58 percent of Americans rated the pharma industry negatively, compared to 27 percent positively, which yielded an overall score of negative 31. Few industries have ever generated a lower score, according to STAT.
STAT adds that the negative views on pharma are consistent across party and ideological lines. Nearly half, 47 percent, of Republicans and 68 percent of Democrats have a negative view of the industry. Additionally, a majority of both men and women have a negative view of the industry.
Contributing to the negative image are certain standalone incidents, such as the pricing of the EpiPen allergy relief device and the scandal that took place when Martin Shkreli raised the price of a life-saving anti-infection drug by 5,000 percent overnight. The opioid crisis also is contributing to the negative image, STAT reports.
Gallup writes that the pharma industry probably won't recover until it addresses its role in the opioid epidemic and the political pressure to lower drug prices subsides.
Read the full STAT report here.
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FDA approves AbbVie's $59K rheumatoid arthritis drug
Teva launches generic version of EpiPen for kids
American Regent boosted price of essential hospital product by 1,300%