President Donald Trump used a prime-time address from the White House on Wednesday evening to highlight what he described as unprecedented reductions in prescription drug prices, explaining how TrumpRx and most-favored-nation pricing will take effect in January.
Trump He said His fellow Americans, “I am doing what no politician of either party has ever done — stand up to the special interest to dramatically lower prescription drug prices.”
He continued:
I have negotiated directly with pharmaceutical companies in foreign countries that have been exploiting our country for many decades to reduce the prices of drugs and pharmaceuticals by as much as 400,500 and even 600%, in other words, your drug costs will plummet, and I am using the threat of tariffs to make foreign countries that would never have done so pay the cost of this giant dollar reduction.
They stopped stealing from us, and it started four days ago. There has never been anything like this in the history of our country. Drugs have only gone up, but now they will go down in unimaginable numbers. It’s called the most favored nation, and no president has had the courage or ability to do that yet. The first of these unprecedented price reductions will be available starting in January through a new website, Trumprx.gov, and these significant price reductions will significantly reduce the cost of health care.
Trump comments on TrumpRx Builds On a series of agreements announced since late September that use the most-favoured-nation framework and direct-to-consumer sales to link U.S. drug prices to what is paid for the same drugs in foreign countries.
In November, Breitbart News reported that Trump had reached deals with five major pharmaceutical companies — Pfizer, AstraZeneca, EMD Serono, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk — covering a wide range of commonly used drugs.
Under the first agreement, reached with Pfizer on September 30, government Medicaid programs gained access to most-favored-nation prices, while many drugs became available to consumers at deep discounts through direct purchase. Dermatitis ointment Eucrisa was to be offered at 80 per cent off, rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz at 40 per cent off, and migraine medication Zavzpret at 50 per cent off when purchased outright.
A follow-up deal with AstraZeneca on October 10 expanded the model to include inhalers used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. According to the White House, BREZTRI AEROSPHERE will be available at a discount equivalent to 654 percent of the transaction price, BREZTRI AEROSPHERE at a 98 percent discount, and AIRSUPRA at a 96 percent discount for patients who purchase direct.
On October 16, Trump announced an agreement with EMD Serono that applies to its full range of in vitro fertilization treatments. When used together in a typical IVF protocol, the company said qualifying patients can receive an 84 percent discount off listed prices, potentially saving thousands of dollars per treatment cycle.
The most recent agreements, unveiled last week, included Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Novo Nordisk has agreed to reduce monthly prices for {“}
\\\]and Wegovy from about $1,000 and $1,350, respectively, to $350, while Eli Lilly agreed to reduce Zepbound and Orforglipron from $1,086 per month to $346. Medicare prices for these four medications will be $245 per month.
The two companies also agreed to specific price reductions on additional medications, with Novo Nordisk offering its widely used insulin products, including NovoLog and Tresiba, at $35 a month, and Eli Lilly offering discounted prices on other treatments such as Emgality for migraines and Trulicity for diabetes, each cutting hundreds of dollars from their list prices.