Trump to announce deal with AstraZeneca aimed at lowering drug prices
By Tami Luhby, Adam Cancryn, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump is expected on Friday to announce a deal with drugmaker AstraZeneca in his latest effort to lower drug costs through so-called “Most Favored Nation” pricing, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The move comes after the president unveiled last week an agreement with Pfizer to reduce prices on many of its drugs, as Trump demanded in a July letter to pharmaceutical company CEOs.
The AstraZeneca arrangement is expected to be similar, the two sources said.
Administration officials said last week more deals would be released soon. The details of Friday’s announcement were first reported by CBS News on X and by MSNBC.
The White House declined to comment.
As part of its deal, Pfizer secured a three-year reprieve in having certain tariffs levied on its pharmaceutical imports as it expands its domestic manufacturing.
Several industry experts, however, have questioned whether Americans will feel much relief from the Pfizer agreement and whether the company is really making significant concessions.
Pfizer said it will sell drugs to Medicaid and set prices of new medications at “Most Favored Nation” levels, the lowest price made available in peer countries. It will sell many of its primary care medicines and some specialty brand-name drugs at a 50% savings, on average, on the new TrumpRx direct-to-consumer website, the company said.
However, it is keeping details of the agreement confidential, which has also raised doubts among experts of its impact.
Medicaid already receives hefty discounts from drugmakers, though any additional price reductions could save states and the federal government some money. Enrollees already pay little to nothing for medications.
Also, while Trump is pushing drug companies to offer their products directly to consumers who are willing to forgo insurance and pay cash, experts question how many patients can afford to do that. For instance, Novo Nordisk announced in August that US patients can now get a month’s supply of Ozempic, the blockbuster diabetes drug, for $499, for those who pay for medications on their own and don’t go through insurance.
Plus, the president has acknowledged that his actions may result in prices rising in other countries, while coming down in America — calling that “fair,” when unveiling the Pfizer deal.
The efforts come as Trump has been pressuring drugmakers for months to lower their prices for US patients. He has long fixated on the fact that Americans pay far more for medications than people in peer countries, particularly in Europe, largely because their governments often determine the cost. Prices are nearly three times as high in the US as they are in comparable countries, according to a Health and Human Services Department report released last year. Trump tried unsuccessfully to institute “Most Favored Nation” pricing during his first term.
This headline and story have been updated with additional details.
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