Pfizer to lower some U.S. drug prices; 'TrumpRx' platform to come
Global drugmaker Pfizer Inc. has signed a deal with President Donald Trump that will provide significant discounts on some U.S. prescription medications.
The agreement will provide every state Medicaid program in the country access to “most favored nation” drug prices on Pfizer products, meaning U.S. consumers will pay the lowest price offered in other developed countries.
According to a White House fact sheet, this will result in “many millions” of dollars in savings for Medicaid and U.S. consumers. The agreement also calls for Pfizer to offer medicines at a deep discount off the list price when selling directly to American patients.
Pfizer will also participate in a direct purchasing platform, TrumpRx.gov, that will allow American patients to purchase medicines from Pfizer at a significant discount. The company said in a press release that a “large majority” of its primary care treatments and some select specialty brands will be offered at savings that will range as high as 85% and on average 50%.
The agreement comes as a 100% tariff applied to any “branded or patented” pharmaceutical product coming into the U.S. goes into effect Wednesday, Oct. 1. The tariffs will not apply to pharmaceutical companies that currently have, or have committed to building, U.S.-based drug-making facilities. That’s a category that includes numerous major pharmaceutical companies, reported NBC News.
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The tariffs will also not affect generic drugs, which account for nine out of 10 prescriptions filled in the U.S., according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Taken together, more than 100 million patients are impacted by the diseases Pfizer’s medicines treat, according to White House data. Examples of medications that will have lower prices in the U.S. as a result of the agreement include:
- Eucrisa, a topical ointment for atopic dermatitis, will be made available at an 80% discount to patients purchasing directly.
- Xeljanz, a widely used oral medication for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis, will be available at a 40% discount to patients purchasing directly.
- Zavzpret, a commonly utilized treatment for migraines, will be sold directly to patients at a 50% discount.
The agreement also requires Pfizer to repatriate increased foreign revenue on existing products that it realizes as a result of U.S. trade policies.
"We are proud to join President Trump at the White House to celebrate this landmark agreement that is a win for American patients, a win for American leadership, and a win for Pfizer," said Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer. "By working closely with the Administration, we are lowering costs for patients and enabling greater investment in the U.S. biopharmaceutical ecosystem by ending the days when American families alone carried the global burden of paying for innovation."
According to the White House, the prices Americans pay for brand-name drugs are more than three times the price other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations pay, even after accounting for discounts manufacturers provide in the U.S.
"In case after case, our citizens pay massively higher prices than other nations pay for the same exact pill, from the same factory, effectively subsidizing socialism abroad with skyrocketing prices at home," Trump said in a statement. "So we would spend tremendous amounts of money in order to provide inexpensive drugs to another country."
Specific terms of the agreement remain confidential.
Separately and without any direct government cooperation, global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has just launched AstraZeneca Direct, an online direct-to-consumer platform designed to create a way for eligible patients to gain access to their prescribed medications at a transparent, discounted cash price with home delivery.
