Pharma Organizations Respond to Trump’s Most-Favored-Nation Policy
Groups like PhRMA and the HDA issued statements explaining their stance of the drug-pricing policy.
President Donald Trump
President Trump announced a plan to reduce prescription drug prices by implementing a most-favored-nation policy with the pharmaceutical industry. The goal of the policy is for Americans to pay prices that are equal to or lower than what the pharmaceutical companies charge in other countries.
On Monday, May 13, the President issued an executive order detailing the plan. Since then, organizations in the industry have started to respond.
Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) said, “To lower costs for Americans, we need to address the real reasons U.S. prices are higher: foreign countries not paying their fair share and middlemen driving up prices for U.S. patients. The Administration is right to use trade negotiations to force foreign governments to pay their fair share for medicines. U.S. patients should not foot the bill for global innovation.”1
He continued, “The U.S. is the only country in the world that lets PBMs, insurers, and hospitals take 50% of every dollar spent on medicines. The amount going to middlemen often exceeds the price in Europe. Giving this money directly to patients will lower their medicine costs and significantly reduce the gap with European prices. Importing foreign prices from socialist countries would be a bad deal for American patients and workers. It would mean less treatments and cures and would jeopardize the hundreds of billions our member companies are planning to invest in America––threatening jobs, hurting our economy and making us more reliant on China for innovative medicines.”
John F. Crowlet, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), issued a similarly critical statement.2 He said, “Most favored nation is a deeply flawed proposal that would devastate our nation’s small- and mid-size biotech companies – the very companies that are the leading drivers of medical innovation in the United States and the cornerstone of America’s biotechnology leadership.”
“Importing socialized medicine will not make Americans healthier or our economy stronger,” the statement continues. “It will only serve to empower China and our other adversaries and undermine our economic and national security. Applying other countries’ antiquated approach to how they value – and pay – for medicines will stall investment across America’s biotech companies, risk access to vital treatments and cures for millions of American patients, and lead to fewer American jobs.”
The statement concludes by saying that patients and families should not be treated like bargaining chips in a trade way. Crowlet cites two examples of this: the proposed tariffs on pharmaceuticals and Trump’s most-favored-nation policy.
"Researchers that spend years developing cures and breakthrough treatments are being penalized and the US is falling behind in the 21st century biotech race,” he continued. “Meanwhile, US medication prices prop up middlemen that prevent cost savings from being passed on to patients. The solution is investments that ensure the U.S. continues to lead the world in medical innovation, and policies that simplify the system."
The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) issued a statement in support of the President’s overall plan but was still critical of the most-favored-nation policy.3
The statement begins, “As a sector saving the healthcare system approximately $63 billion annually, HDA and the nation’s pharmaceutical distributors share the Trump administration’s desire to reduce the cost of healthcare for all Americans. However, we are deeply concerned that the MFN approach––including the broadly referenced direct-to-consumer and importation provisions––could negatively impact access for providers and patients, as well as the long-term stability of the supply chain.”
Sources
- PhRMA Statement on Most Favored Nation Executive Order. PhRMA. May 12, 2025. https://phrma.org/resources/phrma-statement-on-most-favored-nation-executive-order
- John F. Crowley, President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), released the following statement regarding today’s Executive Order on most favored nation. Biotechnology Innovation Organization. May 12, 2025. https://www.bio.org/press-release/john-f-crowley-president-and-ceo-biotechnology-innovation-organization-bio-released
- HDA Statement on “Most-Favored-Nation” Executive Order. HDA. May 12, 2025. https://hda.org/newsroom/2025/hda-statement-on-most-favored-nation%E2%80%9D-executive-order/
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