Bush, Kerry Both Seen Pressed to Curb Drug Prices
Tue Oct 26, 2004 10:27 AM ET

By Lisa Richwine
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pharmaceutical industry is expected to face pressure to curb rising prescription-drug costs no matter which candidate wins next week's U.S. presidential election.

Drug makers prefer Republican President Bush's plan to contain costs, which relies on the private marketplace and competition to drive prices down, over Democratic Sen. John Kerry's more aggressive approach, several analysts said.

"It would be hard to imagine any president being more pharma-friendly" than Bush, said Diane Duston, a Washington-based analyst for Prudential Equity Group.

Bush signed a Medicare law that commits the government to paying for prescription drugs for seniors starting in 2006 and was crafted largely to the industry's liking.

Kerry and other Democrats back two things drug makers do not want: importation of cheaper medicines from Canada and government authority to negotiate prices with manufacturers for Medicare patients.