Read pharma's lips: No public plan

Pfizer chief Jeff Kindler beats pharma's new healthcare reform drum in a BusinessWeek interview with Maria Bartiromo: "[F]or those who truly have no access to insurance, I believe [insurance] is best delivered through the private sector but with government subsidies for people who can't afford it." No public plan! Get the message, Washington?

Expect to hear more along these lines from Kindler and his ilk as overhauling the healthcare system takes center stage in Our Nation's Capital. In the BusinessWeek Q&A, Kindler hits all the other themes, too. Government shouldn't set Medicare prices for drugs (using that anti-capitalist phrase "price controls," just to make sure all the pro-biz types get the message). Comparative effectiveness is OK as long as government doesn't get to enforce what that research discovers about drugs. And of course, the "don't tread on our innovation" refrain.

Bartiromo also gives Kindler the chance to defend its previous mega-deals--Pharmacia brought us Sutent, remember--and talk up its Wyeth deal. Check out the story for more on its free-drug program for the newly unemployed and more.

- read the BusinessWeek interview

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