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Pfizer Announces Agreement with Trump Administration to Lower Prices, Join TrumpRx, and Avoid Tariffs
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Key Takeaways
- President Trump plans a government-run website, "TrumpRx," to sell discounted drugs directly to patients, leveraging federal power to reduce prices.
- Pfizer is expected to announce drug cost reductions and a $70 billion investment in domestic manufacturing, aligning with Trump's initiatives.
Details of the agreement are confidential, but it reportedly fulfills the requirements President Trump set forth in a July 31st letter to the company.
TrumpRx will reportedly offer discounted medication directly to paitents.
Update: Pfizer leadership officially announced an agreement with the Trump administration to reduce drug prices as per the directives detailed in the President’s MFN executive order.2
In a statement on its website, Pfizer stated that the agreement will satisfy the four points made by President Trump in a letter he publicly sent to the company on July 31 of this year. However, the exact details of the agreement remain confidential. Pfizer will also directly participate with the administration’s direct purchasing platform, TrumpRx.
According to the company’s statement, its medications will be available on the platform at a “significant discount.”
In the statement, Pfizer chairman and CEO Albert Bourla said, “We are proud to join President Trump at the White House to celebrate this landmark agreement that is a win for American patients, a win for American leadership, and a win for Pfizer. By working closely with the Administration, we are lowering costs for patients and enabling greater investment in the U.S. biopharmaceutical ecosystem by ending the days when American families alone carried the global burden of paying for innovation. This is about putting all patients first and ensuring America remains the world’s leading engine of medical breakthroughs.”
Bourla continued to reveal that part of the company’s agreement with the administration includes a three-year grace period during which Pfizer products won’t face tariffs. However, the company must continue to invest in domestic manufacturing to fulfill their end of this agreement.
Original story: President Donald Trump reportedly has a new idea for reducing drug prices: having the government sell medicine directly to patients.
A new report from the Wall Street Journal1 says that the White House is preparing to announce plans to launch a government run website that would sell drugs directly to patients. The government would reportedly negotiate discounted rates from the manufacturers, which would allow the medications to be priced lower than other locations.
Who will be able to purchase medication through TrumpRx?
The report does not include details about which drugs would be included on this site and if it would be available to anyone or only to people on Medicare or Medicaid.
If accurate, the move would be consistent with the President’s desire to force down drug prices using the power of the federal government. Previously, the President announced plans to force drug companies to determine domestic drug prices by considering the United States a most-favored-nation.
The same Wall Street Journal report also states that Pfizer will announce plans to lower drug costs in response to the President’s actions. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla will reported announce the plans alongside Donald Trump. These plans will reportedly include a proposal to invest $70 billion in domestic manufacturing operations as well.
Aside from the attempting to reduce drug costs, President Trump has also taken steps to force the pharmaceutical industry to develop domestic manufacturing sites and rely less on imports. To achieve this, the President has attempted to use tariffs to put pressure on pharmaceutical companies.
In late September, President Trump announced plans to implement 100% tariffs on branded or patented pharmaceuticals. However, he announced an exception for companies that had begun construction of domestic manufacturing sites.
On Truth Social, President Trump wrote, “Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% tariff on any branded or patented pharmaceutical product, unless a company is building their pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in America. “Is building” will be defined as breaking ground and/or under construction. There will, therefore, be no tariff on these pharmaceutical products if construction has started. Thank you for attention to this matter!”
While the report says that Pfizer will announce plans to reduce drug costs and make significant investments in domestic manufacturing, it is not the first company to do so. GSK previously announced plans for $30 billion in US-based investments, while Eli Lilly announced plans to spend $5 billion in Virginia. Johnson & Johnson also announced $2 billion to expand an existing site in North Carolina.
The administration has also taken direct approaches to place pressure on pharmaceutical companies. The President previously published letters to 17 pharmaceutical companies who he felt had not taken adequate steps to address his MFN executive order. At the time, he wrote, ““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.”
Industry experts and insiders have criticized the President’s actions, however, claiming that forcing companies to take these steps will impact their ability to innovate and bring those innovations to the American people.
Sources
- White House to Announce ‘TrumpRx’ Drug-Buying Website, and Deal With Pfizer. The Wall Street Journal. September 30, 2025. https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/white-house-to-announce-trumprx-drug-buying-website-and-deal-with-pfizer-8c42e5cb?st=QnFopA
- Pfizer Reaches Landmark Agreement with U.S. Government to Lower Drug Costs for American Patients. Pfizer. September 30, 2025. https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-reaches-landmark-agreement-us-government-lower-drug
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