US President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on December 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump delivered remarks about lowering prescription drug prices during the event.
Alex Wong | fake images
Several of the biggest drugmakers based in the United States and Europe signed deals with President Donald Trump on Friday to voluntarily sell their drugs for less money, as his administration pushes to tie drug prices at home to cheaper ones abroad.
that includes merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, amgen, Gilead, GSK, sanafiRoche's Genentech, privately held Boehringer Ingelheim and Novartis. In exchange, the companies agreed to a three-year grace period during which their products will not face Trump's planned pharmaceutical-specific tariffs, as long as drugmakers continue to invest in American manufacturing.
Among the most notable promises Friday was that Bristol Myers Squibb will offer Eliquis, its blockbuster blood thinner and most widely prescribed product, for free to Medicaid.
The companies make up the majority of the 17 drugmakers to whom Trump sent letters in July, asking 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 raising prices outside the United States and “ending global free riding.”
“As of today, 14 of the 17 largest pharmaceutical companies… have agreed to dramatically reduce drug prices for… the American people and American patients,” Trump said at an event on Friday. “This represents by far the largest victory for patient affordability in the history of American healthcare, and all Americans will benefit.”
Johnson & Johnson, Abvie and Regeneron are the remaining companies among the largest that have not signed drug pricing agreements. But Trump noted that Johnson & Johnson “I'll be here next week.”
How drug price offers will work
Full terms of the deals were not immediately released, leaving it unclear how broad their impact will be.
The nine drugmakers agreed to take steps to lower drug prices in the United States, including selling their existing treatments to Medicaid patients at the lowest “most favored nation” prices and guaranteeing those prices for new drugs. Trump said drug makers also agreed to include their most popular drugs on his upcoming direct-to-consumer website, TrumpRx, which will launch in January.
Some companies also launched new or expanded direct-to-consumer offerings for certain medications. For example, Gilead said in a statement that it will launch a program that will allow patients to access its hepatitis C treatment and cure, Epclusa, at a discounted price.
Sanofi said it will offer discounts of nearly 70% on certain medications to treat infections and cardiovascular and diabetic conditions on TrumpRx and other direct-to-consumer platforms.
Merck said it will offer three diabetes drugs, Januvia, Janumet and Janumet XR, at a discount of about 70% to patients who pay cash through a direct-to-patient program. That program will be expanded to the company's experimental daily cholesterol pill if it is approved in the United States, according to the company.
“I reflect on their goal of driving affordability and access for Americans, but equally, increasing prices outside the United States,” Merck CEO Robert Davis said during the news conference. “And we support their actions 100%.”
Meanwhile, Amgen will expand its existing direct-to-patient program to include migraine preventative drug Aimovig and autoimmune treatment Amjevita, at discounted monthly prices of 60% and 80%, respectively.
Earlier this year, Trump announced deals with Eli LillyNovo Nordisk, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and EMD Serono will sell certain drugs directly to patients at a discount, in exchange for exemptions from their planned pharmacy fees and other benefits, such as accelerated reviews of new drugs.
Prescription drug prices in the United States are on average nearly three times higher than abroad, according to a 2024 study by Rand Corp. Prices for brand-name drugs were more than four times higher, according to the report.
Trump signed an executive order in May to revive the most-favored-nation policy, calling for raising prices outside the United States and “ending global free riding.”
The PhRMA trade association, which represents many major pharmaceutical companies, has said most-favored-nation pricing is not the best way to reduce drug costs for Americans and instead blamed pharmacy benefit managers for the price disparity.
The United States is the most important market for many drug manufacturers, regardless of their country of origin. Despite being based on the other side of the Atlantic, European pharmaceutical companies are highly exposed to the US market: half of the continent's 10 largest companies generate the majority of their sales in the US.
