President Trump’s Drug Price Negotiations Continue

President Donald Trump has struck a deal with Pfizer in his first step towards establishing TrumpRx, a discount drug website operated by the federal government. The agreement arrives in tandem with the announcement of a new drug pricing pilot from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that indicates a resurrection of the Most Favored Nation pricing initiative from President Trump’s first term.

The pilot will be called the Global Benchmark for Efficient Drug Pricing (GLOBE) Model, but details on the program were not forthcoming. Reuters reports that two anonymous drugmaker lobbyists said the program is expected to resemble the 2020 Trump rule that would have tied Medicare drug costs for 50 drugs to the lowest prices in certain countries. This would comport with the executive order President Trump signed in May ordering that drugmakers lower prices for Medicaid patients to align with what other countries pay.

At the time of signing, Trump gave drugmakers until the end of the third fiscal quarter to meet the drug pricing demand, or September 29. According to the Hill, some companies like Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer are launching direct-to-consumer programs for in-demand drugs. The White House has openly preferred a more voluntary approach to lowering drug prices.

On Tuesday, Pfizer announced that it would lower prices on its drugs to the Medicaid program and directly to patients, including launching new medicines at prices “at parity” with those in other countries, STAT explains. Trump told reporters that representatives from pharmaceutical companies would be arriving “over the next week” to strike similar deals.

Trump also unveiled his plan to launch the government-run website, TrumpRx, wherein Americans could purchase drugs directly from manufacturers at a reduced rate. The Wall Street Journal notes that officials say the website won’t be available before 2026. Pfizer’s agreement to participate in the program brings relief from the president’s threat to tariff pharmaceuticals manufactured abroad at 100% in exchange for concessions that “might have only a limited impact on its sales and profit.”

Finally, CMS released a final rule on the third round of Medicare Drug Price Negotiations. The notice included guidance on protections for orphan drugs designated by the Food and Drug Administration, calculations for comparing Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare claims data, policies on how vaccines will be identified and a schedule for the third cycle of negotiations.