Trump touts TrumpRx in SOTU address

Got it. What about TrumpRX? Well, I think TrumpRX is one of many cash payment platforms. And we're excited to see the president bringing his bully pulpit to let people know that there are alternative ways to access medicines that can be transformative for people's lives. But what we didn't hear out of the TrumpRX conversation is why we have to have this conversation. Why is it that people with health insurance have to be considering cash alternatives? And it's because insurance just isn't insurance anymore. We've got deductibles that are $20,000 for a family of four. We've got people, when they get a prescription from their doctor, they're on the hook for the first $500, $1,000, $1,500-- things Americans can't afford. So we have this incredible set of medicines that can transform people's lives. TrumpRX is one platform that might help people pay cash to get them, but we shouldn't be having that conversation. We should be having a conversation about health insurance reform. And that was missing in the president's speech.

You also talked about the importance of capital flows. What will capital flows do in response to the other thing President Trump regularly touts, which is most favored nation status for drug prices, essentially bringing prices in America down to European levels? Well, we don't have to hypothesize on this one. We learned late in the Biden administration what happens when you put price controls in this area, the money goes somewhere else. For example, pills were created under the Biden system to be less valuable than biologics. What did we immediately see? We saw venture capital move all of their money into biologics. So we understand what most favored nation is trying to accomplish, but it's the wrong solution to a much broader conversation about why Americans can't access their drugs. And, notably, President Biden didn't see the pickup under his price controls that I think President Trump would be hoping for with most favored nation. So it may not be a political winner, but we know for certain that it's a loser for American competitiveness. Our venture capital will go somewhere else if we bring in European style price controls. Europe learned this lesson. Japan learned this lesson. We know that if we want America to be the front line of the world's medicine cabinet, then we've got to keep our VCs investing here.

John Stanford, I appreciate the perspective. Thanks so much. Thanks, Major.