Administration announces agreement with Pfizer to lower drug costs

President Trump today announced the first agreement with a major pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, to bring American drug prices in line with the lowest paid by other developed nations — what is known as the most-favored-nation, or MFN, price. Among other actions, the agreement will provide every state Medicaid program in the country access to MFN drug prices on Pfizer products and requires Pfizer to offer medicines at a deep discount off the list price when selling directly to American patients, according to a White House fact sheet.  
 
Administration officials at a news conference today also teased a new website — TrumpRx — which they said would allow direct-to-consumer sales of medications at discounted rates. Pfizer, in its own news release on the agreement, said it will participate in the   TrumpRx platform. 
 
Meanwhile, yesterday, PhRMA announced it will launch a new direct-to-consumer website for drug purchases, among other actions to address the Trump administration’s executive order on MFN pricing. The website, AmericasMedicines.com, will launch in January. PhRMA also said it would invest $500 billion in U.S. infrastructure. 
 
Drug makers had until yesterday to respond to the executive order, which called for providing all Medicaid patients the lowest cost paid for the same medications in other countries; requiring manufacturers to stipulate they will not offer other developed nations better prices for new drugs than those offered in the U.S.; establishing an avenue to sell drugs directly to patients with pricing no higher than the best available in other developed nations; and using trade policy to increase prices internationally, with higher revenues being reinvested into lowering American prices.