Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE Trump administration has announced a deal allowing patients to buy prescription drugs at discounted prices via a new website operated by the federal government.
The agreement with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer will see prices for some medicines slashed by up to 85% on the direct-to-consumer TrumpRx site, the White House said in a press conference on September 30, according to a BBC report.
Pfizer also agreed to lower prescription drug prices for the state-run Medicaid programme, the government’s public health insurance plan for low-income Americans, in a move that will see the company avoid paying tariffs. It comes after the US president announced last week a 100% levy on branded or patented drug imports from 1 October.
Pfizer is the first pharmaceutical firm to settle a deal after Donald Trump sent letters to 17 drug companies in the summer, giving them 60 days to respond to his demands for lower prices – a deadline that expired this week. During the press conference, Trump referred to a policy aimed at aligning prices in the US with lower ones abroad.
He said: “Pfizer is committing to offer all of their prescription medications to Medicaid, and it will be at the mostfavoured nations prices.” “It’s going to have a huge impact on bringing Medicaid costs down.”
He said he expected more deals with drug makers to be announced. In a statement, Pfizer said the majority of its primary care drugs would be available on TrumpRx, but did not disclose specific medicines.
The company also said it would invest an additional $70bn (£52bn) in US manufacturing, research and development. Pfizer’s agreement is the latest example of concessions from pharmaceutical companies to avoid Trump’s tariffs on branded drugs for three years. Pfizer shares rose nearly 7% on Tuesday following the announcement.
Trump conceded that drug prices may rise abroad because of his actions aimed at lowering prices in the US. It is unclear whether Trump’s push including the direct-to-consumer website, which is expected to launch early 2026, will actually bring down prices for American consumers, since insurance companies and other middlemen also influence costs.
