Bernie opened up another front on the prescription drug fight today with an Op-Ed in the New York Times. He asks why Trump is going to let a Zika vaccine developed with government funding be sold at an unregulated price. The opinion piece starts with a bit of expert trolling:

Donald J. Trump told the American people during his presidential campaign, “This country is being drained of its jobs and its money because we have stupid people making bad deals.” He promised to make better deals, ones in which we would win so much we “may even get tired of winning.” — NY Times

The army granted Sanofi $43 million to develop a Zika vaccine, and there is a chance they will receive another $130 million in grants. These research grants were made by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the Department of Human Services (DHS).

Now his administration, through the Army, is on the brink of making a bad deal, giving a French pharmaceutical company, Sanofi, the exclusive license to patents and thus a monopoly to sell a vaccine against the Zika virus. If Mr. Trump allows this deal, Sanofi will be able to charge whatever astronomical price it wants for its vaccine. Millions of people in the United States and around the world will not be able to afford it even though American taxpayers have already spent more than $1 billion on Zika research and prevention efforts, including millions to develop this vaccine. — NY Times

The essay contains examples of drugs being sold at higher prices in the US than in other countries, even when they’ve been developed with research grants provided by the US government. For those wondering why our elected representatives keep subverting the interests of ordinary Americans second to those of special pharma interests:

Our government must stop being pushovers for the pharmaceutical industry and its 1,400 lobbyists. We must not hand this gift to a French drug company without making it pledge not to overcharge American consumers. — NY Times

The high cost of prescription drugs in the US is a concern Bernie has shared with the majority of Americans for years. Sanders offered a bill earlier this year that would allow Americans to fill prescriptions in Canada, where drug prices are regulated and often far lower than in the US. The measure was supported by both Hillary Clinton and Trump during the campaign. The bill has bipartisan support and was narrowly defeated 52-46. 13 Republicans joining the majority of Democrats in supporting the bill. The measure failed because 13 Democrats joined with Republicans to kill the bill. Some have since reconsidered.

— @subirgrewal