Drugmakers post strong results

Abstract

Drug company executives had a reassuring message for their stakeholders when reporting year-end earnings: we’re doing just fine. Revenues and earnings increased for most major pharmaceutical firms in 2018. And during conference calls with investors, many companies forecast similar or increased revenues for 2019 as well. The positive outlook comes at a time when the Trump administration has publicly shamed drug companies for price gouging. The US Department of Health and Human Services has proposed forcing companies to disclose drug prices during television ads, and President Donald J. Trump has even suggested that the US set limits on drug prices on the basis of what European countries pay. Although tough talk from President Trump has shaken the industry before, in the most recent string of earnings conference calls, executives seemed unfazed by the political pressure. Instead, they emphasized drug pipelines stocked with increasingly complex and expensive medicines. For many companies,