U.S. President Donald Trump speaks throughout an occasion within the Roosevelt Room of the White Home December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump delivered remarks on reducing prescription drug costs through the occasion.
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A number of of the biggest U.S. and European-based drugmakers inked offers with President Donald Trump on Friday to voluntarily promote their medicines for much less, as his administration pushes to hyperlink the nation’s drug costs to cheaper ones overseas.
That features Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Amgen, Gilead, GSK, Sanofi, Roche’s Genentech, privately-held Boehringer Ingelheim and Novartis. In alternate, the businesses agreed to a three-year grace interval throughout which their merchandise will not face Trump’s deliberate pharmaceutical-specific tariffs – so long as the drugmakers additional spend money on U.S. manufacturing.
Among the many most notable pledges on Friday is that Bristol Myers Squibb will provide Eliquis, its blockbuster blood thinner and top-prescribed product, without spending a dime to Medicaid.
The businesses make up the vast majority of the 17 drugmakers Trump despatched letters to in July, calling on them to decrease costs as a part of his “most favored nation” coverage. Trump signed an govt order in Might to revive that coverage, calling for costs to be elevated exterior of the U.S. and to “finish international freeloading.”
“As of at present, 14 out of the 17 largest pharmaceutical corporations … have now agreed to drastically decrease drug costs for … the American folks and the American sufferers,” Trump mentioned at an occasion on Friday. “This represents the best victory for affected person affordability within the historical past of American well being care, by far, and each single American will profit.”
Johnson & Johnson, AbbVie and Regeneron are the remaining corporations among the many largest that have not signed drug pricing offers. However Trump famous that Johnson & Johnson “can be right here subsequent week.”
How the drug pricing offers will work
The total phrases of the offers weren’t instantly launched, which makes it unclear how broad their impression can be.
The 9 drugmakers agreed to take measures to cut back U.S. drug costs, together with promoting their current remedies to Medicaid sufferers on the lowest “most favored nation” costs, and guaranteeing that pricing for brand spanking new medicines. Trump mentioned the drugmakers additionally agreed to listing their hottest medicine on his upcoming direct-to-consumer web site, TrumpRx, which is launching in January.
Some corporations additionally launched new or expanded current direct-to-consumer choices for sure medicine. For instance, Gilead mentioned in a launch that it’s going to launch a program that may permit sufferers to entry its Hepatitis C remedy and treatment, Epclusa, at a reduced value.
Sanofi mentioned it’ll provide reductions of practically 70% on sure medicines to deal with infections and cardiovascular and diabetic situations on TrumpRx and different direct-to-consumer platforms.
Merck mentioned it’ll provide three diabetes medicines, Januvia, Janumet and Janumet XR, at a roughly 70% low cost to cash-paying sufferers via a direct-to-patient program. That program can be prolonged to the corporate’s experimental each day ldl cholesterol tablet if it will get accredited within the U.S., in line with the corporate.
“I mirror in your purpose of driving affordability and entry to Individuals, however equally, getting costs up exterior the US,” Merck CEO Robert Davis mentioned through the press convention. “And we’re 100% supportive of your actions.”
In the meantime, Amgen will develop its current direct-to-patient program to incorporate preventative migraine remedy Aimovig and autoimmune remedy Amjevita, at 60% and 80% discounted month-to-month costs, respectively.
Earlier this yr, Trump introduced agreements with Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and EMD Serono to promote sure medicine on to sufferers at a reduction, in alternate for exemptions from his deliberate pharmaceutical tariffs and different advantages, reminiscent of fast-tracked critiques of recent medicine.
U.S. prescription drug costs on common are practically 3 times increased than abroad, in line with a 2024 research by RAND Company. Costs for branded medicine had been greater than 4 occasions increased, the report discovered.
Trump signed an govt order in Might to revive probably the most favored nation coverage, calling for costs to be elevated exterior of the U.S. and to “finish international freeloading.”
Commerce affiliation PhRMA, which represents many main pharma corporations, has mentioned that most-favored nation pricing is not the easiest way to decrease drug prices for Individuals, and as an alternative blamed pharmacy profit managers for the worth disparity.
The U.S. is the only most vital market for a lot of drugmakers, no matter their residence nation. Regardless of being primarily based throughout the Atlantic, European pharma corporations are closely uncovered to the U.S. market, with half of the ten largest corporations on the continent producing a majority of their gross sales within the U.S.
