Mike Hollan

President Trump has made deals with 14 out of 17 major pharmaceutical companies.

On Friday, President Trump held a live press even where he announced nine more participants for TrumpRx.

The President was joined at the event by leaders from each of the companies, which included:

During the briefing, President Trump also said that he had reached agreements with leaders from countries in Europe to ensure that drug prices in those countries matched prices in the United States. According to the President, he used tariffs as leverage in these negotiations.

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Throughout the course of the year, President Trump has broadly used the threat of tariffs as a negotiating tactic. Earlier this year, he suggested that he may place 200% tariffs on pharmaceuticals. However, that threat was related to domestic manufacturing concerns and he appears to have shifted course and started making deals directly with pharma companies.

As an example, he said that if a drug cost $10 in the European country and $130 in the United States, it would cost $20 in both countries. The President also claimed that drug prices in the United States would be lowest in the developed world.

All future drug releases from these companies will also be available at MFN pricing through TrumpRx.

14 of the 17 companies previously called out

 by the President for drug prices have announced deals with the administration to offer discounted medication on TrumpRx. The government-run website will launch sometime in 2026.

 demanding the pharmaceutical companies treat the United States as a most-favored-nation and offer medication as-low-as-or-lower than other regions.

In a post announcing the order, President Trump wrote, “For many years the World has wondered why Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in the United States of America were so much higher in price than they were in any other nation, sometimes being to ten more expensive than the same drug, manufactured in the exact same laboratory or plant, by the same company?”

In late-July, the President publicly published letters to major pharmaceutical companies, calling them out for not meeting the requirements of his executive order. In the letter, he wrote, “Make no mistake: a collaborative effort towards achieving global pricing parity would be the most effective path for companies, the government, and American patients. But if you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued drug pricing practices.”

During today’s press event, President Trump suggested that the remaining three companies had also worked out deals with his administration and would be announcing them shortly.

In addition, Bristol Meyers Squibb announced an agreement with the US government to provide the blood thinner Eliquis for free for members of Medicaid.

In a press release on the company’s website, Bristol Meyer’s Squibb chief executive officer and board chair Christopher Boerner, PhD, said, “We are taking direct action to improve the lives of millions of Americans, ensuring our nation’s most vulnerable have access to this critical medicine at no cost. Today’s agreement builds on BMS’s efforts to improve affordability, increase transparency and continue to invest in America, where we have an over 165-year history of discovering and developing life-changing medicines.”

WATCH LIVE: Trump expected to make announcement about lowering drug prices. 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/watch-live-trump-expected-to-make-announcement-about-lowering-drug-prices

Bristol Myers Squibb Announces Agreement with U.S. Government to Improve Affordability and Access to Critical Medicines for Americans. 

https://news.bms.com/news/details/2025/Bristol-Myers-Squibb-Announces-Agreement-with-U-S--Government-to-Improve-Affordability-and-Access-to-Critical-Medicines-for-Americans/default.aspx

Articles

President Trump announced the inclusion of nine pharmaceutical companies in TrumpRx, a government initiative aimed at reducing drug prices. The companies involved are Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, Gilead, GSK, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi. Trump has negotiated with European countries to align drug prices with those in the U.S., using tariffs as leverage. The TrumpRx website is set to launch in 2026, offering discounted medications. Bristol-Myers Squibb also announced a deal to provide Eliquis for free to Medicaid members.

Nine more companies have joined the DTC government-run website, which is set to launch sometime next year.

President Trump Announces Nine More TrumpRx Participants

President Trump’s executive order pushing for most-favored-nation (MFN) pricing for pharmaceuticals sent shockwaves through the industry. While most people agree that healthcare and pharmaceuticals are often prohibitively expensive and patients are often unable to afford the treatments they need, forcing drug prices down in the US can have other consequences.

 held the first in a series of executive webinars on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, bringing together industry experts to discuss the potential impact of MFN on pharma and how the industry can strategize ahead of its implementation. Hosted by Ned Milenkovich, head of health care practice at Much Shelist and editorial advisor for 

Brian Corvino: principal and global market access practice leader with Deloitte

Neal Masia, PhD: co-founder and CEO at EntityRisk, Inc.

Ali Pashazadeh: founder, chairman, and CEO at Treehill Partners

George Van Antwerp, MBA; senior vice president of product innovation and strategic planning at Prime Therapeutics

The discussion began with Corvino laying the groundwork for the current landscape. As he explained, “There’s a long history of the concept of MFN in US trade policy. That being said, that issue has become very active in drug pricing in the last year. Earlier this year, two executive orders reintroduced the topic of MFN for drug pricing.”

He continued, “The current administration continues to lay the groundwork for the drug pricing environment, specifically in the US. There’s important connectivity with this and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and whether some of guidance or direct negotiations, 340B drug price transparency, ASP calculation, and not to mention tax trade and tariff policy.”

Masia chimed in, “I think this is the administration saying what’s the worst imaginable thing I can do within the bounds of my authority that I can do to the industry to get them to the table so that they will announce and change some behaviors. The specifics of MFN may mostly be unworkable, but the underlying goal is clear: announcements about lower drug prices in some way.”

When asked who stands to gain and who stands to lose from the MFN order, Pashazadeh answered, “The only person I care about here is the patient. Everybody else is a bystander or observer in this conversation. Having graduated 30 years ago and lived through MFN in Europe, the result is that Europe is optimizing for the 95

 percentile (for every 100 patients that come in, we’re treating 95 in the most cost effective manner). What happens to the remaining patients? They do matter. The number of times I’m in a hospital and a patient needs a treatment but the hospital administrator is saying that it’s not cost effective…”

“My view is,” he continued, “we've got legislature, lawyers, and everyone else who is going to negotiate this and put frameworks in place. They must keep in mind at the end of the day there is someone's mother, father, or child who is going to pay the price.

How will pharma respond, and how will that response play out?

The conversation then turned to the topic of pharma’s response, with Van Antwerp explaining, “During the last Trump administration, there were multiple legal challenges from the industry. I’m sure we will see similar things play out here. In a perfect world, the pharma companies would just lower the prices and say that they don’t want to deal with the complexity of the system. They would show the administration that they can lower list prices and that they’re willing to be flexible.”

“The challenge is that 80% of the profits are coming from the US, it is the largest global market,” he continued. “Most companies would struggle to not be in the US long term. When it comes to innovation, it doesn’t require unchecked pricing to be allowed in order to exist.”

Does MFN and other pricing policies pursued by the administration put biopharma innovation and the US’ position as the first-to-launch territory in jeopardy?

Masia replied to Van Antwerp’s comments, saying, “If pricing was really unchecked, then PBMs wouldn’t exist. Their entire business is to check the pricing power, which is why there is such a big gap between the list and net prices. This is likely why people like Donald Trump are annoyed, because it’s such a confusing mess and nobody really knows what the price of a drug really is.”

Moving on to the topic of innovation, he said, “If you're thinking about MFN to say that the world is paying less, why can’t the US pay less, the answer that everybody is circling is that the US market is not what’s going to most affected in the near term. It’s the other markets where drugs do get launched in because the price bleeds through the whole system. In the US, from an R&D perspective, you would be picking and choosing the areas where the value is the clearest and everyone understands why this is a valuable innovation.”

The conversation then moved to closing thoughts, with Corvino summarizing his thoughts as, “This is a time where bringing ideas to the table is an absolute necessity. There’s a lot of ways to do that, so I encourage real activation and being part of shaping that policy. There’s been quite a bit of innovation that’s being discussed in terms of new models, and it’s time to thinking about bringing those models to the marketplace.”

Van Antwerp continued, “When any idea comes through, we look at it across three basic ways:

Is it saving the patient money out of pocket

President Trump's executive order on most-favored-nation (MFN) pricing for pharmaceuticals has sparked significant debate within the industry. Experts discussed the potential impacts of MFN on drug pricing, patient access, and pharmaceutical innovation. The order aims to lower drug prices, but its feasibility and implications for the US market and global innovation remain contentious. Industry responses may include legal challenges and strategic pricing adjustments. The discussion emphasized the need for innovative policy solutions that balance cost-effectiveness with patient access and the sustainability of pharmaceutical innovation.

Key points from our recent webinar on the President’s MFN order.

What the President’s Drug Pricing Push Means for Pharma, Payers, and Patients

On Sunday, President Trump posted to Truth Social that he planned on implementing a most-favored-nation policy for pharmaceutical drug prices.

On the social media site, President Trump wrote, “For many years the World has wondered why Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in the United States States of America were so much higher in price than they were in any other nation, sometimes being to ten more expensive than the same drug, manufactured in the exact same laboratory or plant, by the same company?”

(Please note that the President’s post has been edited to remove capitalized words. The rest of the text remains as originally written.)

He continued, “It was always difficult to explain and very embarrassing because, in fact, there was no correct or rightful answer. The Pharmaceutical/Drug Companies would say, for years, that it was Research and Development Costs, and that all of these costs were, and would be, for no reason whatsoever, borne by the ‘suckers’ of America, alone. Campaign Contributions can do wonders, but not with me, and not with the Republican Party.”

A most-favored-nation clause states that a certain party is given treatment equal to or better than any other party.

Trump continued, stating that he plans on signing an executive order on Monday morning (May 12) at 9 am Est that reduces pharmaceutical drug prices. According to his post, the order will impact drug prices by 30-80%.

It’s unclear how broadly Trump plans to extend the impact of the executive order. The government is set to negotiate Medicare prices, but the wording of Trump’s post does not make this specification. Additionally, Trump also states that drug prices may increase in other parts of the world to make them “fair” with American prices.

Technically, pharma companies could simply increase prices in other nations in order to honor a most-favored-nation clause with the United States. However, this would go against Trump’s pledge to reduce the cost for Americans.

It’s unclear if this is a move that the President can enforce via executive order. However, the Republican controlled House and Senate have generally supported President Trump’s efforts.

The President’s Truth Social post concludes, “I will be instituting a most-favored-nation’s policy whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the world. Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before. Additionally, on top of everything else, the United States will save trillions of dollars.”

President Trump has also said that he plans to institute tariffs on pharmaceuticals by mid-May.

 It’s unclear how this latest announcement will impact the tariffs. Tariffs would likely impact the prices of pharmaceuticals. However, if pharma companies are forced to reduce prices in the United States, it’s unclear how they would be able to keep prices low in the face of tariffs.

. May 11, 2025. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114491534347862682

Charter, David. Trump to announce pharmaceutical tariffs ‘in next two weeks.’ 

. May 6, 2025. https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/trump-announce-pharmaceutical-tariffs-two-weeks-7fxlr2r58

The President plans to sign an executive order on Monday morning to enforce the trade clause.

President Trump Announces Most-Favored-Nation Policy for Pharma Prices

The businessman’s pharmaceutical company, Cost Plus Drugs, is partnering with Price.com to build a platform where consumers can compare drug prices. According to a press release from Price.com,

 the goal of the platform is to make prescription drugs more affordable to the people who need them. By being able to compare drug prices, users will be able to find the most affordable sources.

In a press release, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company CEO Alex Oshmyansky said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Price.com in our mission to make prescription drugs more affordable for consumers. At Cost Plus Drugs, our commitment to transparent drug pricing has always been unwavering, and with Price.com, we are dedicated to providing affordable and accessible healthcare solutions for all."

In the same press release, Price.com CEO and founder RJ Jain also said, “Teaming up with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company is a pivotal step towards achieving our shared goal of improving healthcare affordability and accessibility. Thanks to this collaboration, Price.com users can make informed choices that best suit their health and financial needs."

This is just the latest move Cuban’s company has made towards increasing its prominence in the pharmaceutical landscape.

In mid-March, Cost Plus Drug Company announced that it had teamed up with Provell Pharmaceuticals to provide patients with direct access to Euthyrox, a leading hypothyroid drug.

 The goal of this partnership is— similarly to the company’s partnership with Price.com—to provide the drug at affordable prices.

According to a press release from Provell Pharmaceuticals, Euthyrox is one of the most prescribed drugs worldwide.

In the press release, Provell Pharmaceuticals CEO Steve Hodge said, “Our mission is to remove the cost barrier for millions of Americans, regardless of insurance coverage, who need quality medications but who often cannot afford them due to markups imposed by a variety of players in the US healthcare landscape. By working directly with online platforms such as Cost Plus Drugs, which shares our vision to make drugs affordable and accessible to all, we are disrupting the traditional model and conferring significant savings to patients."

In the same press release, Oshmyansky added, “Drug prices continue to rise exponentially, and it's an unsustainable trend that is extracting a huge toll on the health and well-being of many Americans. We've developed an alternative model–and are partnering with like-minded companies such as Provell Pharmaceuticals—to offer prescription drugs directly to consumers at a fraction of the cost by showing consumers exactly what the drugs cost, exactly what our margin is, and exactly what consumers will pay. It's fair, transparent, and is dramatically less expensive for patients."

Price.com Announces Collaboration with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company to Make Prescription Drugs More Affordable. 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pricecom-announces-collaboration-with-mark-cuban-cost-plus-drug-company-to-make-prescription-drugs-more-affordable-302105807.html

Provell Pharmaceuticals and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company Bring Leading Hypothyroid Drug, Euthyrox®, to U.S. Patients at Low-Cost Prices through Direct-to-Consumer Model. 

. March 12, 2024. Accessed April 2, 2024. 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/provell-pharmaceuticals-and-mark-cuban-cost-plus-drug-company-bring-leading-hypothyroid-drug-euthyrox-to-us-patients-at-low-cost-prices-through-direct-to-consumer-model-302085598.html

The two company’s will provide consumers with a platform where they can compare drug prices.