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President Donald Trump is expected to announce a deal on Friday aimed at reducing prescription drug prices in the U.S. in partnership with AstraZeneca, a major pharmaceutical company.
The announcement is scheduled for late Friday afternoon in the Oval Office, focusing on Trump’s “most favored nation” initiative, which seeks to align U.S. drug prices with those in other developed countries, particularly benefiting low-income patients lacking insurance or on Medicaid.
Reports indicate that AstraZeneca, headquartered in the United Kingdom, has pledged to lower its U.S. drug prices and invest $50 billion in manufacturing, research, and development within the United States.
This summer, Trump sent letters to 17 leading pharmaceutical companies, demanding they begin implementing his pricing policies by the end of September.
A White House fact sheet released in July highlighted that the U.S. accounted for 75% of global pharmaceutical profits while representing less than 5% of the world’s population.
Administration officials noted last week that the objective of Trump’s plan is to equalize U.S. net pharmaceutical prices with those in other G7 nations, as well as Switzerland and Denmark, which have various forms of socialized medicine.
Recently, Pfizer became the first company to enter into a “most favored nation” agreement with the administration, agreeing to provide reduced pricing for all its products to state Medicaid programs. This initiative is projected to yield significant savings for the social safety net program supporting lower-income Americans.
The deal with Pfizer mandates that all new drugs be priced in the U.S. at levels comparable to those in other developed countries. Additionally, any revenue gains from higher foreign prices will be redirected to lower U.S. prices.
While the White House has yet to disclose specific net prices for the discounted Pfizer products, senior officials have indicated that reductions could range between 40% and 80% for certain medications.
Both AstraZeneca and Pfizer collaborated with the Trump administration in 2020 on “Operation Warp Speed,” successfully developing a COVID-19 vaccine within the first seven months of the pandemic.
During a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump acknowledged that while global pharmaceutical prices may rise slightly, U.S. prices would see significant declines. He explained, “If a pill sells for $10 in London and $100 here, the pill will go to $20 in London and $20 for us. It’s pretty simple.”
Trump also mentioned that many countries have agreed to accept the upcoming price increases under the threat of potential U.S. tariffs.
“They know that if they don’t do it, we’re going to put a tariff on for double the price, and they’re going to do it,” Trump stated.
AstraZeneca has yet to respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
