President Donald Trump announced a new series of drug-pricing agreements with international pharmaceutical companies and several smaller biotechs on August 31 as part of an ongoing effort to reduce healthcare costs in the United States. The announcements took place during an Oval Office event attended by executives from companies including Astellas, BeOne Medicines, CSL, BridgeBio, Sun Pharmaceutical, and UCB SA.
Israel’s Teva, which was present at the event, indicated it was still in negotiations with the administration regarding a potential agreement. Under the new deals, these companies have committed to providing drugs to state Medicaid programs at most-favored-nation prices—a term describing the lowest price offered among comparable buyers. The administration characterized this as a "tremendous discount" that could substantially lower the cost of medical care for Americans.
Specific details about the drugs covered and the exact discounts were not disclosed by the White House. Companies described some terms as private, leaving the extent of savings for both the government and patients unknown. Officials also highlighted future cost reductions tied to innovative medicines and agreements to increase domestic manufacturing of certain pharmaceutical products.
U.S. consumers currently pay significantly more for prescription medications compared to other developed countries—often nearly three times as much. This has been a central issue for the Trump administration, which has pressed drugmakers to lower prices to levels seen abroad.
These new agreements build on similar arrangements made last year with 17 major global drugmakers, including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk. Those deals involved price cuts for federal health programs and selling some medicines directly to patients through a Trump-branded website, secured in exchange for tariff relief. It remains unclear whether smaller companies involved in the most recent agreements will participate in direct-to-patient sales.
One notable outcome from earlier deals has been price reductions for weight-loss medications. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly agreed to lower prices in exchange for increased access to these drugs through Medicare. Since July 1, a temporary pilot program has seen approximately 600,000 seniors seek prescriptions, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz.
Despite these initiatives, some consumer advocacy groups remain skeptical about the actual benefits to American patients. Peter Maybarduk, director of Access to Medicines at Public Citizen, said the new agreements serve as a distraction from the administration's broader failure to align U.S. drug prices with those of other wealthy countries. He noted that Medicaid already benefits from substantial discounts under existing legislation, and most program beneficiaries incur minimal out-of-pocket costs.
Smaller and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies have generally been hesitant to join the administration’s pricing programs. A report from June found that only Japan’s Astellas had applied for the Medicaid pricing initiative at that time, with executives from other firms, including Ionis Pharmaceuticals, citing limited financial incentives to participate.
The White House has hosted multiple high-profile events this year with pharmaceutical industry leaders to promote its drug pricing efforts. These moves are part of a wider strategy to emphasize healthcare affordability ahead of the midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.