President Donald Trump has secured new drug pricing agreements with nine pharmaceutical companies, with an aim to align the prices of drugs in the U.S. with international prices.
The companies include Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC), Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines Ltd. (NASDAQ:ONC), BridgeBio (NASDAQ:BBIO), CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA) and UCB.
The agreements, announced on Monday, require the companies to offer discounts on outpatient drugs across all state Medicaid programs, bringing U.S. drug prices more in line with prices in foreign markets. The deals cover treatments for several chronic and rare conditions, including hemophilia, liver disease, skin disorders and certain cancers.
Moreover, the companies have committed to collectively investing at least $19.6 billion in U.S. manufacturing in the near term. Astellas, Sun Pharma, Teva, and UCB have also agreed to donate active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for key medicines to the federal government’s strategic reserve.
26 Drugmakers Now Part of Trump Deals
These new agreements expand the Trump administration’s total number of drug pricing deals to 26 companies, which, according to the President, represent 90% of the domestic pharmaceutical market. He said the remaining 10% of the industry is “also coming in” and “has no choice.”
Over the past year, the Trump administration has struck drug pricing agreements with 17 other pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY) and Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO), as part of its “most favored nation” policy.
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, “President Trump…called me and (Dr. Mehmet) Oz every hour of the day and made it very clear that our jobs were dependent on this getting through.”
“They were very, very emotional conversations,” he added after Trump responded that he wouldn’t have fired RFK Jr.
Lower Prices Put Pressure on Pharma
Drugmakers are investing billions to shift manufacturing to the U.S. and expanding direct-to-consumer sales through platforms like TrumpRx to reduce exposure to tariffs. However, lower U.S. drug prices are pressuring revenues, with companies like Novo Nordisk expecting higher prescription volumes to take time to offset the decline.
In May, White House economists estimated that Trump’s drug pricing deals could lead to savings of $529 billion over the next decade. The federal and state governments could also collectively save $64.3 billion on Medicaid due to Trump’s “most favored nation” policy on drug prices.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
Recent Comments