Public Citizen filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that federal agencies failed to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests seeking disclosure of drug-pricing agreements involving Pfizer and Eli Lilly.¹

The lawsuit follows announcements by both companies in late 2025, saying they had reached separate arrangements with the administration, and focuses on whether the administration has improperly withheld details of agreements it has promoted as efforts to lower prescription drug costs, but whose terms remain confidential.¹

“We are suing the Trump administration to learn exactly what it has negotiated with Big Pharma,” said Peter Maybarduk, Public Citizen’s access to medicines director.

How did the companies frame the agreements?

In late September, Pfizer described its agreement as “a win for American leadership, and a win for Pfizer,” while stating that the specific terms of the deal were expected to remain confidential.¹ Public Citizen proceeded to argue that making the agreement public would allow patients, policymakers, and industry observers the ability to assess how the administration is approaching prescription drug pricing and whether the deal could meaningfully affect drug costs nationwide.

In November, Eli Lilly later announced its own agreement with the administration to bring its GLP-1 medications to TrumpRx. Since its agreement with the administration, Lilly has received three priority review vouchers from the FDA, allowing the company to expedite regulatory review of certain products.¹

With Eli Lilly expected to generate tens of billions of dollars in sales from its new weight loss drug and the company’s chief executive officer, David Ricks’ publicly maintaining a friendly relationship with President Donald Trump, Public Citizen has raised concerns on whether the “discounts” cited by the administration and the company would translate into meaningful savings for patients.¹

Why did Public Citizen file its suit against the Trump Administration?

In an effort to provide clarity, Public Citizen submitted a Freedom of Information Act request on October 21, 2025, to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the Pfizer agreement.²

Additional requests concerning the Eli Lilly deal were submitted to both agencies on November 9, 2025, and according to the complaint, neither department produced the requested records, prompting the legal action.³

“Trump and RFK Jr. pledged ‘radical transparency.’ Instead, they’ve given us secret deals with drugmakers. The secrecy makes it impossible to determine these deals’ effectiveness in lowering some drug prices. Prescription drug corporations are experts at gaming pricing rules. We need the texts so that we can understand how the deals will really affect Americans. The administration has not responded to our Freedom of Information Act requests. So today, we sued, asking the court to order the administration to make the deal texts public,” Maybarduk said.

Public Citizen contends that the lack of disclosure undermines accountability at a time when drug pricing remains a central political and policy issue. Without access to the agreements, the organization argues, it is not possible to evaluate whether the deals align with public statements made by the administration or whether they primarily benefit pharmaceutical manufacturers without delivering measurable patient savings.

“The Trump administration’s failure to make these deals public reflects disdain for the transparency and accountability the American people deserve from their government,” said Zachary Shelley, the Public Citizen attorney serving as lead counsel on the lawsuit.

Sources

1. Public Citizen Sues Trump Adminsitraion for Failing to Makes Public Its Secret deals with Pfizer and Eli Lilly. Public Citizen. January 28, 2026. https://www.citizen.org/news/public-citizen-sues-trump-administration-for-failing-to-make-public-its-secret-deals-with-pfizer-and-eli-lilly-2/
2. Public Citizen’s Freedom of Information Act Request to Pfizer. Public Citizen. October 21, 2025. https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/HHS-FOIA-request-USG_Pfizer10212025.pdf
3. Public Citizen’s Freedom of Information Act Request to Eli Lilly. Public Citizen. Novemebr 9, 2025. https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/HHS-FOIA-request-USG_Eli-Lilly_1192025.pdf
4. This Pharmaceutical Executive has Trump's Ear. Politico. January 17, 2026. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/17/how-eli-lillys-leader-won-trumps-favor-00735098?utm_campaign=Life+sciences+%26+health+care&utm_id=49015032&utm_medium=email&utm_source=delivra