Nine of the largest pharma companies ink deals with Trump to lower drug prices
Published Fri, Dec 19 2025
2:32 PM EST
Updated 1 Min Ago
Elsa OhlenWATCH LIVEKey Points
- Several of the largest U.S. and European-based drugmakers inked deals with President Donald Trump to voluntarily sell their medications for less, as his administration pushes to link the nation's drug prices to cheaper ones abroad.
- Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk have already struck deals with the Trump administration to cut prices.
President Donald Trump signs an executive order aimed at reducing the cost of prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals by 30% to 80% during an event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 12, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
Several of the largest U.S. and European-based drugmakers inked deals with President Donald Trump on Friday to voluntarily sell their medications for less, as his administration pushes to link the nation's drug prices to cheaper ones abroad.
That includesMerck, Bristol Myers Squibb, Amgen, Gilead, GSK, Sanofi, Roche's Genentech, privately-held Boehringer Ingelheim and Novartis.
That makes up the majority of the 17 drugmakers Trump sent letters to in July, calling on them to lower prices as part of his "most favored nation" policy. Trump signed an executive order in May to revive that policy, calling for prices to be increased outside of the U.S. and to "end global freeloading."
Trump said Johnson & Johnson is not present, "but will be here next week."
Earlier this year, Trump announced agreements with Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and EMD Serono to sell certain drugs directly to patients at a discount, in exchange for exemptions from his planned pharmaceutical tariffs and other benefits, such as fast-tracked reviews of new drugs.
U.S. prescription drug prices on average are nearly three times higher than overseas, according to a 2024 study by RAND Corporation. Prices for branded drugs were more than four times higher, the report found.
Trump signed an executive order in May to revive the most favored nation policy, calling for prices to be increased outside of the U.S. and to "end global freeloading."
Trade association PhRMA, which represents many major pharma companies, has said that most-favored nation pricing isn't the best way to lower drug costs for Americans, and instead blamed pharmacy benefit managers for the price disparity.
The U.S. is the single most important market for many drugmakers, regardless of their home country. Despite being based across the Atlantic, European pharma companies are heavily exposed to the U.S. market, with half of the 10 largest companies on the continent generating a majority of their sales in the U.S.
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