WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump announced Friday agreements with nine leading pharmaceutical firms to slash medication costs for Medicaid patients and cash-paying US consumers, aligning prices closer to those in other wealthy nations.
Participants include Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, Roche’s US arm Genentech, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi, and GSK.
“We’ve been footing the bill for the world’s drugs. No more,” Trump declared at a White House briefing, joined by industry executives.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services head Mehmet Oz said Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie will visit post-holidays to launch the TrumpRx website.
Officials promised “huge savings” on most Medicaid drugs for low-income users, though exact figures weren’t specified. US patients currently pay up to triple the rates in other developed countries.
Deals commit firms to match foreign prices on select drugs via TrumpRx.gov, launch new meds at comparable levels (not below), and expand US manufacturing—for a three-year tariff waiver.
Merck will offer diabetes drugs Januvia, Janumet, and Janumet XR at ~70% of list prices directly to consumers ahead of generics, plus experimental enlicitide (fast-tracked by FDA) if approved.
Amgen expands direct sales of migraine drug Aimovig and rheumatoid arthritis treatment Amjevita at $299/month—60-80% below current lists.
In July, Trump urged 17 top pharma CEOs for “most-favored-nation” Medicaid pricing and parity launches. Five others—Pfizer, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, EMD Serono (Merck KGaA US)—already agreed. Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie remain.
Initial investor fears of broad controls eased with deal specifics. Analysts note Medicaid (10% of US drug spend) already gets deep discounts, often >80%; Pfizer flagged coming margin squeezes.
