The extent of the cosy links between the White House and US drugs giants will fuel fears the companies are set to prey on the NHS in a post-Brexit trade deal.
At least 16 of Donald Trump ’s current or former administration officials work for or have worked for the pharmaceutical industry.
They include the Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar who earned millions running US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly while prices of its insulin drug doubled.
The US President and Boris Johnson both insist the NHS will not be part of trade negotiations after Brexit .
Trump, inset, told a press conference in Britain in June “everything is on the table, so NHS, or anything else”, but then back-tracked.
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “As sure as night follows day a Tory victory in this general election will see Boris Johnson trying to trade our NHS to Trump.”
US firms are understood to be lobbying hard for any trade deal to give them full market access to our health service. They are also pushing for an end to NHS price controls which reduce what it pays for drugs.
Experts say paying US prices would push up the yearly NHS drugs bill from £18billion to £45billion.
The drugs industry, known as Big Pharma, is worth £1.3trillion annually to the US economy and has one of the most powerful lobby machines in Washington.
The website Big Pharma’s Best Friends, set up by transparency campaigners Restore Public Trust, gives the number of current or former Trump officials with ties to the pharmaceutical industry as “at least 16”.
It adds White House officials have pocketed £4.6million from the industry.
US pressure on India 'of grave concern'
The US is said to be pressuring India to drop its price caps on medical devices as part of a new trade deal between them.
Civil society group Third World Network claimed Donald Trump’s government wanted changes to “public health-friendly patent laws”.
It said: “This is a matter of grave concern. Millions rely on affordable medicines, devices and vaccines.”
