President Donald Trump on July 9 called out several drugmakers, including Pfizer, for making drug price hikes earlier this month, reports Reuters.
Pfizer increased the price of 100 medications July 1 by an average of about 9 percent, although some drugs saw a 20 percent price increase. Genentech also increased the price of several drugs July 1, while Teva Pharmaceutical Industries raised prices on 14 drugs in June.
The price hikes follow President Trump's May 31 promise that drugmakers would soon make "massive drops in prices." He expressed his discontent about the recent price hikes on Twitter.
"Pfizer & others should be ashamed that they have raised drug prices for no reason," he tweeted July 9. "We will respond!"
HHS Secretary Alex Azar also took to Twitter to weigh in on the price increases, hinting toward future action on drug prices.
"Those who increased prices will be remembered for creating a tipping point in US drug pricing policy," he tweeted July 8. "Change is coming to drug pricing, whether painful or not for pharmaceutical companies."