The president of the United States, Donald Trump, the Secretary of Human Services and Health of the United States (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Medicare and Medicaid Services Centers Eastern Sala in the Eastern Sala in the Washingon, the Department of the US Department (USA., USA) 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he asked the main pharmaceutical companies to take measures to reduce the prices of medicines in the next 60 days.
In Truth Social on Thursday, Trump published individual letters that he sent to 17 drug addicts: Abbot, Amgen, AstrazenecaBoehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli LillyEmd Serono, Genentech, Head, GSK, Johnson and Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Regeneronand Healthy.
Trump threatened to “display all tools in our arsenal to protect American families from continuous practice of abusive drug prices” if companies refuse to comply. He asked that each company commit to its various objectives before September 29.
The letters occur after Trump in May signed an executive order that revived a controversial plan, known as the “most favored nation” policy, which aims to reduce the costs of medicines by linking the prices of some medications in the United States to the significantly lower abroad. It was Trump's last effort to try to control the prices of prescription drugs in the United States, which are two to three times higher on average than those of other developed nations, and up to 10 times more than in certain countries, according to Rand Corp., a group of public policy experts.
The White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has the letter from the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to the CEO of Eli Lilly, David Ricks, during a press conference at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, UU., July 31, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
In Thursday's letters, Trump said drug manufacturers have proposed potential solutions for high drug prices in the United States. But he said that these proposals “promised more of the same: the changing fault and request policy changes that would result in billions of dollars in brochures to the industry.”
He said that in the future, he will only accept the commitments of drug manufacturers that provide the immediate relief of American families in the prices of enormously inflated medicines and the end of the free trip of US innovation by European and developed nations. “Trump said that a collaboration effort to reduce the prices of US medications would be the” most effective path “for companies. patients.
The actions of drug manufacturers fell after Thursday's announcement. Bristol Myers Squibb and Novo Nordisk's actions fell almost 5%, GSK and Merck actions fell more than 3%and Sanofi's shares fell more than 8%.
Here are the steps Trump asks the companies to take:
- He asked the medication manufacturers to provide their complete portfolio of medicines existing at the lowest price offered in other developed nations, or in what he calls the most favored price of the nation, to each medical patient.
- Trump also asked companies to hire with the USA.
- He asked companies to negotiate more with what he called “free foreign nations”, adding that the United States's commercial policy will try to support that effort. He said that the increase in foreign income must be “repatriated to the prices of the lowest medications” for US patients and taxpayers through an agreement with the United States.
- He asked drug manufacturers to adopt models that sell their medications directly to consumers or companies, which effectively eliminates intermediaries and aims to ensure that all Americans obtain the same more favored nation prices as companies offer to external payers.
Alex Schriver, senior vice president of PHRMA, the largest lobbying group in the industry, said that “the importation of foreign prices controls would undermine US leadership, hurting patients already workers.”
The group added that to reduce price differences with other countries, US officials should “stop medical care intermediaries that increase costs for Americans and obtain foreign countries to pay their fair part for innovative medicines.” PHRMA refers to pharmacy benefits managers, insurers and other payers.
In separate statements, Pfizer spokesmen, Novo Nordisk and Novartis said they are working to find solutions that help Americans access and pay the drugs they need.
Pfizer said the company's discussions with the Trump administration and the Congress “have been productive.” Novartis said he is checking the letter.
The announcement occurs a few days after Astrazeneca said it has proposed price cuts to certain drugs in the United States, and that the Trump administration is considering those proposals. Astrazeneca added that he is considering selling some medications to patients directly, which is a measure to which companies such as Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb have adopted as patients fighting for paying medications in the United States.
Drug manufacturers are also preparing for the president's planned rates on pharmaceutical products imported to the United States
