23 February 2017 - Saunders points to JFK’s tactics to hold down steel costs.

To satisfy the Trump administration’s calls to deal with high U.S. drug costs, one industry leader is proposing that the president lead negotiations with drug makers to restrain prices.

Allergan Plc Chief Executive Officer Brent Saunders cited tactics used by President John F. Kennedy decades ago to keep down steel prices. The administration also could waive federal anti-trust rules that currently prohibit drug makers from discussing pricing so they could put together guidelines to follow, he said.

Voluntary agreements that restrain prices are “a very practical solution that doesn’t, in my view, do anything to impede innovation,” Saunders, 47, said Wednesday in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. Convincing fellow drug makers to agree with him, however, could be a challenge. “It would be difficult,” the CEO said.

Read Bloomberg article