Trump Unveils Pact with 9 Big Pharma Firms to Cut US Drug Prices

US President Donald Trump has announced an agreement with nine major pharmaceutical companies to slash prescription drug prices, in a bid to bring costs in line with those in Europe. The deals, part of a broader effort to reduce US drug costs, see Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech (Roche), Gilead, GSK, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi committing to cut prices. The administration has secured commitments from 14 of 17 major drugmakers it targeted in July. Three remaining companies - AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson, and Regeneron - are still in talks. As part of the agreements, participating companies will sell select medications directly to consumers through their own websites, allowing patients to purchase drugs without insurance. A new federal website, TrumpRx.gov, will be launched in January to centralize access to these manufacturer platforms. The deals also extend to public programs, with companies pledging to provide most of their products to state Medicaid systems at prices comparable to those in other wealthy nations. This is expected to produce additional savings for certain medications. In return, the manufacturers will receive exemptions from tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals for three years. The administration says this will encourage drugmakers to set prices in line with those in comparable countries abroad, starting from new drugs introduced in the US.