Pharma giants back Trump’s push for lower drug prices in landmark affordability deal

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump used a White House meeting with leaders from nine major pharmaceutical companies to spotlight what his administration is calling a major advance in health care affordability, with multiple officials and executives emphasizing reduced drug costs for American patients.

The meeting brought together executives from Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Gilead, GSK, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi, as Trump framed the event around lowering prescription prices and reversing long-standing disparities between US and international drug costs.

Trump said the agreements reached marked the “largest health care affordability victory for patients in US history,” noting that 14 of the world’s 17 largest pharmaceutical companies have now committed to lowering prices for American consumers, with three more expected to follow.

RFK Jr calls pharma pricing deal unprecedented

“As of today, 14 out of the 17 largest pharmaceutical companies have agreed to drastically lower drug prices for their American patients,” Trump said. “This represents the greatest victory for patient affordability in the history of American healthcare by far.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr described the effort as unprecedented, saying no previous administration had delivered comparable results on drug pricing.

“Nobody has done anything for affordability greater than this,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy shared a personal anecdote, saying one of his sons, whom he described as a “very left-wing Democrat,” had called to express support for the initiative.

“He told me how proud he was about this,” Kennedy said. “This is something Bernie Sanders has talked about for 25 years. Elizabeth Warren talked about it. Joe Biden promised it. President Obama promised it. President Clinton promised it.”

Kennedy argued that Americans have long paid disproportionately high prices for medications developed and manufactured domestically, while other countries benefited from lower costs.

“We were paying $1,300 for a drug made in New Jersey,” he said. “The same drug, made in the same plant, was being sold for $88 in London.”

Drugmakers announce commitments

Executives also used the meeting to outline concrete commitments tied to affordability.

Bristol Myers Squibb announced that it would provide Eliquis, one of the most commonly prescribed blood-thinning medications in the US, to Medicaid patients at no cost.

“We are very proud to announce that we will provide Eliquis to Medicaid - for free,” a company representative said at the White House.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick framed the agreements as part of a broader economic strategy.

“This is the entire administration working together to bring drug prices down and bring manufacturing home,” Lutnick said.

Mehmet Oz says that 'this is affordability in action'

Dr Mehmet Oz, who has worked with the administration on healthcare policy, said the effort directly addresses financial pressure faced by families.

“This is affordability in action,” Oz said. “We’ve got moms with sick children who cannot afford their medication. This is a hardcore approach driven by a bold leader.”

Trump said the administration would continue pressing remaining companies to join the program, emphasizing that affordability will remain a central priority as negotiations continue.