The silence was likely due to the fact drug companies donated billions support Trump’s presidential campaign. He and the rest of the country were in such a state of shock that Trump won it took a while for everyone to gather his bearings. Meanwhile, drug companies raised prices across the board in the high single-digits – practically daring President Trump to do anything about. Allergan actually sold its Restasis (dry-eye) patents to the St. Regis Mohawks to avoid an inter partes review (“IPR”) brought on by Mylan (MYL). Of all the patent ploys orchestrated by drug makers this one had to have taken the cake. It was also brazen considering the attention on price-gouging paid by Sanders, Hillary and Trump.
In October 2017 President Trump exclaimed drug companies were getting away with murder. His angst was likely prompted by Allergan’s patent ploy. However, it was more rhetoric. Now may be the time for the president to prove he not simply a maverick when it comes to black athletes, but has the metal to hold corporations accountable. Consumers and retailers have sued Allergan for price-gouging in Restasis, and for holding back generic competition. Shocking The Street, an investment service the Shock Exchange runs in conjunction with Seeking Alpha, estimates the legal exposures could run into the billions of dollars.
Restasis came off patent in the second half of 2014; through patent ploys Allergan was able to keep generic competition at bay. Generics would have allowed consumers to buy dry eye medicine at a fraction of branded Restasis. The ploys cost consumers billions and added tens of billions to Allergan’s market capitalization. President Trump should push for the courts to force Allergan to make Restasis buyers whole for the difference between (1) the prices paid for branded Restasis over the past four years and (2) the prices they would have paid for a generic version. This all assumes President Trump is serious about holding price-gougers like Allergan accountable. As of now, Trump has only proven the willingness to screw up the incomes of black athletes like Colin Kaepernick (San Francisco 49ers) and Eric Reid (49ers).
