Ricks Talks ‘Common Ground’ With Trump

The chief executive officer of Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) is calling a meeting Tuesday morning with President Donald Trump and other pharma executives "positive and productive." Dave Ricks said the topics covered include prescription drug affordability and accessibility, global trade agreements and tax code and regulatory reform. He said the current health care system needs to evolve to make way for an industry-led, "value-based" approach.

The discussion at the White House also included Vice President Mike Pence and Representative Greg Walden (R-Oregon), who is a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and has spoken in favor of peeling back federal economic regulations.

Following the meeting, Ricks released the following statement:

This morning we had a positive, productive meeting with President Trump, Vice President Pence and Representative Walden. We talked about how we can work together to improve American competitiveness around the world, create more jobs here at home and enhance the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry that continues to lead the world in the development of life-saving treatments and cures.

We discussed many areas of common ground, including: Advancing stronger trade agreements to level the playing field with countries around the world; Reforming our tax code to spur investment and job creation here in the U.S.; and removing outdated regulations that that drive up costs and slow innovation.

Lilly and the industry take seriously the concerns that President Trump and others have raised about the affordability and accessibility of prescription medicines, and we expressed our commitment to working with the administration to advance market-based reforms. The current system needs to evolve to enable the private sector to lead the move to a value-driven health care system. To do this, we need to reform existing laws and regulations that are currently preventing private companies from negotiating better deals and paying for medicines based on the value they provide to patients and our health care system.

We look forward to working with the new administration and Congress to advance solutions that promote economic growth and job creation and create a more competitive health care marketplace.

This morning, Lilly announced increased annual and quarterly profits.