Trump announces fresh drug-pricing pacts with nine pharma firms

The Trump administration has signed a fresh round of drug-pricing agreements with nine pharmaceutical companies, including Teva, Astellas, CSL, Sun Pharmaceutical, UCB SA, BeOne Medicines, and BridgeBIO. The deals were announced at an Oval Office event on Monday, with President Donald Trump describing the terms as a "tremendous discount" that should significantly reduce medical costs for Americans.

The agreements extend "most-favored-nation" pricing to state Medicaid programs, meaning the companies will offer their drugs at prices comparable to those paid in other developed nations. US patients currently pay nearly three times more for prescription medicines than patients in other wealthy countries, a gap the administration has been working to close.

This round builds on earlier agreements struck last year with 17 of the world's largest drugmakers, including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Amgen. Those companies agreed to lower prices for federal health programs and to sell certain medicines directly to patients through a Trump-branded website, in exchange for tariff relief.

Smaller and mid-sized drugmakers had been slow to join the initiative. A June report found that only Astellas had confirmed applying for the Medicaid pricing program at that point, with some executives citing limited financial incentive. It remains unclear how much these new deals will save the government or patients, as Medicaid already receives steep statutory discounts and most enrollees pay little out of pocket.

The White House has held several high-profile events with pharmaceutical executives this year, part of a broader effort to highlight healthcare affordability ahead of the midterm elections. The administration has projected that its overall drug-pricing push could save $64.3 billion in federal and state spending over the next decade, though that figure remains speculative.