President Donald Trump swore in Alex Azar as HHS secretary Monday. During the ceremony, the president renewed his pledge to lower drug prices and said the initiative would be one of Mr. Azar's biggest priorities in his new role, reports STAT.
"He's going to get those prescription drug prices way down," President Trump said when introducing Mr. Azar Monday. He also cited Mr. Azar's former career with drugmaker Eli Lilly as an advantage to tackling drug prices.
"Whenever I speak to Alex, I speak to him about [drug prices], I think, prior to anything else," the president said, according to STAT. "And I know you can do it. You know the system. And you can do it because it's wrong."
During his Senate confirmation hearing Jan. 9, Mr. Azar said he wanted to redesign the drug pricing system to reduce drugmakers' and pharmacy benefit managers' incentives for raising drug prices, among other initiatives.
Mr. Azar will replace former HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, who held multiple brainstorming sessions with industry stakeholders — including pharmacists, healthcare providers and pharmacy benefit managers — to discuss strategies for lowering drug costs during his time in the White House.