April 2 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump secured agreements with 16 major pharmaceutical companies to bring U.S. prescription drug prices in line with those paid in other developed nations in exchange for three-year exemptions from tariffs on drug imports.
Drugmakers have committed to “most-favoured-nation” pricing, to sell drugs directly to consumers through a new government platform called TrumpRx.gov and pledged billions of dollars in U.S. investments.
Trump sent letters to the leaders of 17 large pharma companies back in July, demanding that they match U.S. prices of their new drugs with the lowest prices offered in other developed nations with 16 of them publicly announcing agreements with the government.
Here are details on the deals:
PFIZER
The company in September agreed to lower prescription drug prices for American patients, including discounts of up to 85% through TrumpRx.gov.
Pfizer said majority of its primary care treatments and some select brands, such as rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz, dermatitis drug Eucrisa and post-menopausal osteoporosis medicine Duavee, will be offered at average savings of 50% which can be as high as 85%.
JOHNSON & JOHNSON
Drugmaker J&J in January agreed to lower drug prices for American patients, including through the TrumpRx.gov platform.
Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, including details on revised drug prices or which medicines are covered.
ASTRAZENECA
AstraZeneca in October agreed to lower prescription drug prices for American patients, including discounts of up to 80% through the TrumpRx.gov.
NOVO NORDISK
Weight-loss drug maker Novo Nordisk in November has agreed to reduce prices for its semaglutide medicines, including Wegovy and Ozempic, for American patients through the government’s Medicare, Medicaid, and a direct-to-patient cash channel.
Prices of Ozempic and Wegovy will fall from $1,000 and $1,350 per month, respectively, to $350 when purchased through TrumpRx.
Novo Nordisk will also provide widely-used insulin products, including NovoLog and Tresiba, at $35 per month through TrumpRx.
ELI LILLY
Eli Lilly in November agreed to offer Medicare beneficiaries its obesity medicines Zepbound and orforglipron, branded as Foundayo, at no more than $50 per month, with additional discounts for self-pay patients through LillyDirect.
The Zepbound multidose pen will be available at $299 per month at the lowest dose, with additional doses priced up to $449, while Foundayo will be available starting at $149 per month at its lowest dose through LillyDirect.
Lilly will also offer Emgality, a migraine treatment, at $299 per pen, and Trulicity, a diabetes medicine, at $389 per month through TrumpRx.
ABBVIE
AbbVie in January agreed to lower drug prices through Medicaid and expand direct-to-patient offerings via TrumpRx for medicines, including Humira and Synthroid.
BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB
Bristol Myers Squibb said in December it will provide its blockbuster blood-thinner Eliquis to Medicaid for free as part of its deal with the Trump administration.
It also agreed to donate more than seven tons of active pharmaceutical ingredient for Eliquis.
GILEAD SCIENCES
Gilead Sciences said in December it will provide select medicines to treat HIV, hepatitis C, hepatitis B and COVID-19 at a discounted price for Medicaid beneficiaries.
It agreed to price future medicines at parity with other key developed nations and make its hepatitis C treatment, Epclusa, available at a discounted cash price through TrumpRx and its own direct-to-patient program.
EMD SERONO
Trump and Merck KGaA unit EMD Serono said in October the German company would sell its fertility treatments, including Gonal-f, Ovidrel and Cetrotide, directly to consumers with a combined discount of 84% off list price if three of them were used in IVF.
It would offer all new drugs launched in the U.S. at the prices it charges in other developed countries.
MERCK
U.S. drugmaker Merck in December said it will sell its diabetes drugs Januvia, Janumet and Janumet XR – set to face generic competition next year – directly to U.S. consumers at about 70% off list prices.
If approved, its experimental cholesterol drug enlicitide will also be offered through direct-to-consumer channels, including TrumpRx.
ROCHE
Roche unit Genentech said in December it would lower prices for many of its medicines under Medicaid comparable to those available in other wealthy countries.
It also agreed to make its influenza medicines available through TrumpRx.gov and through its own direct-to-patient program.
NOVARTIS
Novartis said in December it would launch new drugs in the U.S. at prices comparable to other developed countries.
It also agreed to make multiple sclerosis drug Mayzent as well as cancer drugs Rydapt and Tabrecta available through its direct-to-patient platform and TrumpRx.gov.
AMGEN
Amgen said it will add cholesterol drug Repatha at a monthly price of $239, migraine drug Aimovig, and arthritis treatment Amjevita at $299 a month to its direct-to-patient program, which is 60% to 80% off list price.
SANOFI
Sanofi said in December it will offer lower-cost medicines via TrumpRx and other direct-to-patient platforms, with average savings of about 70% on treatments for infections, heart disease, and diabetes.
It also agreed to align the Medicaid price of several medicines with those in other high-income countries.
GSK
GSK in December agreed to make most of its inhaled respiratory medicines and other drugs available to patients on a direct-to-patient platform with savings of up to 66%.
It also agreed to lower the price of certain medicines in Medicaid and launch new drugs with a “more balanced pricing approach” across developed nations.
BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM
Boehringer Ingelheim said in December it would make its medicines available through TrumpRx.gov at discounted prices.
REGENERON
Regeneron said in April it anticipates announcing a deal with the Trump administration “in the near future”.
It is the sole company among 17 large pharmaceutical companies that received letters from President Donald Trump in July that has yet to sign such an agreement.
(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury, Mariam Sunny and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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