President Trump and drug companies agree to lower drug prices
President Donald Trump and nine major drug companies on Friday (December 19) announced a deal to lower the prices of their drugs for the government’s Medicaid program and cash payers, in the latest effort to bring U.S. costs in line with those in other rich countries.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to announce on February 5 the launch of TrumpRx, a website aimed at providing low-cost medicines as part of his administration’s efforts to bring prices down to levels paid by other developed countries.
The prices will reflect discounts the White House announced it had negotiated with more than a dozen drug companies, including Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Genentech, Gilead, GSK, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer and Sanofi, under “most-favored-nation” drug pricing agreements.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt urged the public to tune in at 7 p.m.
“President Trump, Dr. Oz, and National Design Studio Director Joe Gebbia will officially unveil TrumpRx, a cutting-edge website for American consumers to purchase low-cost prescription drugs,” she wrote to X. “This historic announcement will save millions of Americans money. You won’t want to miss it!”
In a series of Oval Office announcements in 2025, President Trump touted more than a dozen deals with pharmaceutical giants to sell drugs to Medicaid and TrumpRx at discounted prices.
In each agreement, the Trump administration agreed to postpone planned tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry in exchange for drug companies selling their products at a discount to Medicaid and directly to consumers through TrumpRx.
Pfizer, which first announced the partnership on September 30, said the program would allow patients to purchase Pfizer medicines at an average discount of 50%. The majority of its primary care treatments and some specialty brands will also be covered, the company said in a news release.
“By taking this bold step, we are ending the era of global price gouging at the expense of American families and making America healthy again,” President Trump said of Pfizer’s move.
President Trump said the two companies have agreed to sell prescription drugs at prices not to exceed comparable country prices. The agreement builds on an executive order signed by President Trump in March that instituted a “most-favoured nation” policy for drug pricing.
President Trump announced his first contract with Pfizer on September 30, followed by deals with more than a dozen other companies in October, November, and December.
In November, President Trump announced deals with pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to reduce the prices of popular weight-loss drugs Wegoby and Zepbound and expand Medicare coverage of these drugs for seniors.
On December 19, President Trump announced “most-favored-nation” agreements with Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, Gilead, GSK, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi.
Who will use TrumpRx?
Most working-age Americans receive health insurance and prescription drug coverage from their employers. Consumers who purchase Affordable Care Act insurance, and elderly and low-income households enrolled in the government health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid, typically receive drug discounts through their insurance plans.
But uninsured Americans often have to pay for prescription drugs with their own money.
Consumer websites like GoodRx and entrepreneur Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs offer consumers discounts on prescription drugs
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly sell popular weight-loss drugs through their own pharmacies, chain retailers, and discount sites. Consumers need a prescription from a health care provider to purchase drugs.
