From Washington Examiner: President Donald Trump on Thursday demanded that the chief executives of 17 pharmaceutical companies lower their drug prices for U.S. consumers or else face “every tool in our arsenal.”
Trump issued the threat in 17 separate letters posted on Truth Social. Among the recipients were CEOs Albert Bourla of Pfizer, Robert Davis of Merck, Joaquin Duato of Johnson & Johnson, and Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca.
“Make no mistake: a collaborative effort towards achieving global pricing parity would be the most effective path for companies, the government, and American patients,” Trump wrote. “But if you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices.”
The chief executives were tasked with prioritizing “most-favored-nation” pricing. This means that the U.S. would pay no more for prescription drugs than the lowest price they are sold for in other developed countries.
The White House said brand-name drugs in the US are up to three times pricier than the same drugs in other countries. The new policy aims to reduce drug costs by benchmarking them against international prices. Essentially, if a drug costs less in another country, the U.S. government would negotiate to pay that lower price.
For example, if a medication costs $100 in the U.S. and $75 in Canada, the U.S. would negotiate a price closer to the $75 Canadian price, forcing pharmaceutical companies to lower prices in the U.S. to match their international pricing strategies.
Trump told companies to extend the cheaper pricing plan to every Medicaid patient and guarantee the lower pricing for every new drug, among other changes.
.@POTUS has ordered me to do something that no other president has done before: establish across-the-board “Most Favored Nation” drug pricing. Americans shouldn’t be saddled with sky-high bills for medication their tax dollars helped develop. pic.twitter.com/TmUIuwkEki
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) June 24, 2025
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