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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
The Trump administration just added nine more drugmakers to its "most favored nation" pricing program, bringing 89% of the branded drug market under these agreements. The new deals require Medicaid price concessions and U.S. launch prices tied to international rates — in exchange for avoiding tariffs. Critics, however, say there's little proof the deals are actually lowering prices for Americans.
The Trump administration announced pricing agreements with nine additional mid-sized pharmaceutical manufacturers, expanding its "most favored nation" (MFN) drug pricing initiative. The new signatories — Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and UCB — join 17 large drugmakers already in the program, bringing 89% of the branded drug market under MFN deals.
Under the agreements, companies must offer Medicaid price concessions and peg future U.S. drug launch prices to what's paid in other countries. In return, they're expected to sidestep tariffs and new Medicare drug pricing models. The group also committed to investing at least $19.6 billion in U.S. manufacturing and donating active pharmaceutical ingredients to a government stockpile.
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Why it matters: While the U.S. is seeing its biggest prescription drug price drop in generations, policy experts caution that market forces and Medicare negotiations — not MFN deals — deserve most of the credit. Critics like Public Citizen argue the agreements lack verified evidence that companies have actually lowered U.S. launch prices to MFN levels.
