By Trevor Hunnicutt, Sriparna Roy and Ahmed Aboulenein
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump announced a drug pricing deal with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals on Thursday, wrapping up the final agreement among the 17 large pharmaceutical companies that negotiated deals with his administration.
Companies including Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Amgen have agreed to slash prices of their medicines for the government’s Medicaid program for low-income people and for cash payers in Trump’s bid to align U.S. costs with those in other wealthy nations.
In exchange for three-year exemptions from tariffs on drug imports, the drugmakers have committed to “most-favored nation” pricing, to sell drugs directly to consumers through a new government platform called TrumpRx.gov, and pledged billions of dollars in U.S. investments.
“I’m thrilled to announce that one of the most respected pharmaceutical companies anywhere in the world, frankly, I know it very well is Regeneron, and it’s agreed to offer their prescription medications at heavily discounted most favored nation prices,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
Regeneron shares ended up 2.6% on the day.
U.S. patients currently pay by far the most for prescription medicines, often nearly three times more than other developed nations. Trump has been pressuring drugmakers to lower their prices to what patients pay elsewhere.
Regeneron has agreed to reduce Medicaid prices for its current and future medications, Trump said at the Oval Office event.
The company has also received approval for its gene therapy Otarmeni for children with a rare type of hearing loss.
The therapy will be made available for free in the U.S., Trump said. The drugmaker has also agreed to sell its cholesterol drug Praluent for $225, he said, down from $537, and will list it on TrumpRx.
The 17 companies account for 86% of the branded pharmaceutical drug market in the United States, said Chris Klomp, chief counselor of the Department of Health and Human Services, who played a leading role in the negotiations. However, more than 90% of medicines sold in the U.S. are generics, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Trevor Hunnicutt and Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington; Additional reporting by Michael Erman in New Jersey; Editing by Susan Heavey and Maju Samuel)
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