Trump announces new deal with pharma companies to cut drug prices

Donald Trump, president of the United States, made new agreements that aim to lower prescription drug prices.

The president made deals that would lower the cost of their medications so they could compete with those from the developed world at the lowest possible price on Friday alongside leaders from Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, and Merck, among other leading pharma giants.

According to Trump, “American drug prices will soon drop rapidly and furiously to some of the lowest in the developed world,” starting next year.

“In the history of drug purchases, this is the biggest thing that has to do with drugs.”

Senior administration officials said the deals would allow drugmakers to offer “massive savings” on widely used medications without quoting specific numbers for prices on some of the medications sold to low-income people under the terms of the agreements.

“We were giving the world a subsidy.” At a press conference held at the White House along with nine pharma executives, Trump declared, “We’re not doing it anymore.”

Regeneron, Johnson &amp, Johnson, and AbbVie would travel to the White House after the holidays to launch the government’s TrumpRx website, according to Mehmet Oz, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service director.

US prescription drug prices are currently nearly three times higher than those in other developed countries, and Trump has been trying to persuade drugmakers to lower their prices so that they can afford them.

Officials said the deals included agreements to lower the cash-pay direct-to-consumer prices of some of the medications that might be sold through the TrumpRx, but the details of each were not immediately made public. to increase manufacturing and to introduce drugs in the US at prices comparable to those in other wealthy nations. Companies can also expect a three-year tariff exemption.

Drug prices decline

Merck announced that it will direct sell its diabetes products Januvia, Janumet, and Janumet XR to US consumers for about 70% off list prices. Enlicitide, its experimental cholesterol drug, will also be made available through consumer-facing direct channels if approved.

According to previous reports from the Reuters news agency, Enlicitide is one of two Merck drugs that will undergo a quick review under the new, quick-track system.

At $299 per month, which is nearly 60% and 80% below the current US list prices, Amgen announced it would expand its direct-to-patient program to include the migraine medication Aimovig and the rheumatoid arthritis medication Amjevita.

Trump addressed letters to leaders of 17 major pharmaceutical companies in July outlining how they should offer low-income people the US government’s Medicaid program at “most-favoured-nation prices” and reassure them that no new drugs will be released at prices that are higher than those in other high-income nations.

Five businesses have so far struck deals with the administration to control costs. They are Merck’s US division, EMD Serono, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, and Merck’s US division.

According to officials, a portion of each company’s foreign sales will also be remitted to the US to cover costs.

According to officials, the businesses each pledged to invest more than $150 billion in US R&D, manufacturing, and D, but it was not clear whether that included earlier commitments. Additionally, several people agreed to donate drug ingredients to the US Strategic Reserve.

Trump has long been concerned about the disparity between drug prices in the US and those in other wealthy nations, which have government-run health systems that negotiate price discounts.

Investors initially persuaded by the US government’s tighter price controls, but the terms of the deals announced so far have stifled many of those fears.

Source: Aljazeera