While we don’t agree with President Trump on very much, he is absolutely right about how out-of-control drug prices are harming American families, forcing far too many have to file for bankruptcy, cash out 401ks, refinance their home or go even without food to pay for drugs that help keep them alive.
Earlier today, Trump’s very own FDA commissioner publicly shamed drug companies that are “gaming the system” to protect their huge profits by preventing generic versions of medication from hitting the market and lowering prices for patients.
And guess which company has been the worst offender with the most complaints filed against it? Celgene, the drug company that was headed by Bob Hugin before he was handpicked by Donald Trump to run for the U.S. Senate right here in New Jersey.
When Trump and his own administration are so embarrassed and ashamed of Bob Hugin’s behavior as a greedy drug company CEO, you know just outrageous Hugin’s conduct has been.
Of course, we all know that Trump talks a lot, but he would never actually do anything to help regular people — especially when the profits of his wealthy friend and handpicked U.S. Senate candidate are at risk.
Here’s just one example from NPR on how Bob Hugin’s actions and those of his former company have been a punch in the gut to sick cancer patients, “if not for Celgene’s blockade, a generic version of Revlimid should have hit the market in February.”
By preventing generics, Celgene has been able to reap massive profits on its cancer drugs and increase prices by more than 170% in the last decade. A year supply of Revlimid now costs over $160,000 — more than triple the annual salary of the average New Jerseyans.
But stuffing his bank account at the expense of cancer patients- he made over $47 million in just the last 18 months- isn’t all Hugin did at Celgene. He also tried to market a drug for unapproved treatments before getting hit with a $280 million settlement for defrauding taxpayers and misleading patients.
Simply put, New Jersey can’t trust Bob Hugin to fight for us because he has spent his entire career making healthcare more costly and less accessible.