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The letter states that the companies have 60 days to meet the President's requirements.
President Donald Trump
President Trump issued strongly worded letters to 17 pharmaceutical companies reaffirming his stance on drug pricing in the United States.
In May, the President issued an Executive Order stating that pharmaceutical companies must treat the US as a most-favored-nation (MFN) in regard to drug pricing. As the order stated, domestic drug prices must either be equal to or less than the lowest price of the drug in other countries. At the time, the President wrote that pharmaceutical companies had said drug prices in the US were higher due to research and development costs.
Today, on his Truth Social account,1 President Trump published letters to 17 major pharmaceutical companies addressing his reactions to their plans to address his MFN order. According to the letter (each company received the same letter), the responses included “shifting blame and and requesting policy changes that would result in billions of dollars in handouts to the industry.”
The President issued letters to the following companies:
In the letter, President Trump laid out his main goals for the MFN order, along with a timeline. Within the 60 days, he writes that the companies must do the following:
The letter calls for the companies to engage with Secretary Kennedy and Administrator Oz in order to implement these changes.
Trump writes, “Make no mistake: a collaborative effort towards achieving global pricing parity would be the most effective path for companies, the government, and American patients. But if you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued drug pricing practices.”
In his original announcement for the MFN order, Trump wrote, ““For many years the World has wondered why Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in the United States States of America were so much higher in price than they were in any other nation, sometimes being to ten more expensive than the same drug, manufactured in the exact same laboratory or plant, by the same company?”
Drug prices have been one of the President’s key goals in his current term. Aside from the MFN order, he’s also issued warnings about placing tariffs on pharmaceutical goods. On July 11, CNBC2 reported that the President proposed placing up to 200% tariffs, although he did not provide specifics. He also did not provide a timeline for the implantation of these potential tariffs, claiming that it could take up to a year-and-a-half for them to be put in place.
Adding to the confusion, President Trump has also announced wider tariffs against specific countries. In some deals, such as the one he signed with the European Union, pharmaceuticals are included.
In response, many pharmaceutical companies have begun to strategize around potential tariffs. Since this would only impact imported goods, some companies have announced plans to invest in increasing their US manufacturing footprint. Since it would take several years to build US domestic manufacturing up to the point it could replace imported pharma products, however, it’s unclear how this will impact tariffs.
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