Chicago – December 19, 2025
President Donald Trump has announced landmark agreements with nine major pharmaceutical companies to cut prices on a wide range of prescription medicines in the United States, particularly for low-income patients covered by Medicaid.
Deal overview
- The drugmakers have agreed to reduce prices on most medicines sold to the Medicaid program, which serves tens of millions of low-income Americans.
- The agreements are part of Trump’s push to narrow the gap between U.S. drug prices and significantly lower prices in other wealthy countries.
Companies involved include AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead, Merck, Novartis and Roche, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. The deals build on earlier arrangements with Pfizer, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk and others, bringing the total number of cooperating manufacturers to 14 of 17 targeted firms.
The companies are expected to offer “most-favored-nation” prices to Medicaid and commit not to launch new drugs in the U.S. at prices above those in other high-income countries.
Trump has framed the move as a historic victory for affordability, though full details of the discounts and their impact on overall drug spending remain undisclosed.
