Trump sends letters to pharma CEOs demanding they reduce drug prices in 60 days Anjalee KhemlaniJuly 31, 2025 at 10:21 PM President Trump escalated efforts to reduce drug prices in the US on Thursday, releasing letters sent to 17 pharmaceutical company CEOs on Truth Social.
- - Trump sends letters to pharma CEOs demanding they reduce drug prices in 60 days
Anjalee KhemlaniJuly 31, 2025 at 10:21 PM
President Trump escalated efforts to reduce drug prices in the US on Thursday, releasing letters sent to 17 pharmaceutical company CEOs on Truth Social.
The letters, addressed to Eli Lilly (LLY), Pfizer (PFE), AstraZeneca (AZN), and others, include a 60-day deadline to implement Trump's most-favored-nations (MFN) clause — to reduce drug prices to the lowest rates they sell to any developed nation — for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees.
All three company stocks were trading down between 1% and 3.5% after the letters were posted.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) said in a statement that it "remains focused on improving patient access and affordability, and we will continue to work to find solutions that help people access the medication they need."
In a statement to Yahoo Finance, Novo Nordisk said it remains "committed to finding ways to improve access and affordability for patients."
Meanwhile, Trump has set a deadline of 60 days for the companies to comply.
"Domestic MFN pricing will require you, and all manufacturers, to negotiate harder with foreign freeloading nations," Trump wrote in the letter.
He outlined in the letter that all existing drugs should be priced at MFN pricing for Medicaid patients, and new drugs should have the new pricing for Medicaid and Medicare patients. In addition, the companies should engage in direct-to-consumer (DTC) pricing for all patients. The DTC strategy has been seen most recently in sales of GLP-1s as Novo and Lilly have tried to shut down the copycat compounding market by offering cheaper vials, rather than injectables, for a lower cost to cash-paying patients through telehealth partners.
Trump said that Health and Human Services (HHS) Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz will be involved in the process and "stand ready to implement these terms."
He ended the letters with a deadline of September 29.
Trump posted his letter to pharmaceutical CEOs on Truth Social. The Pfizer letter is pictured. (Truth Social/President Donald Trump)
The letters add to pressure from the White House, even as many of these CEOs have had comfortable relationships with the president.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who has known Trump since his first term due to the pandemic, is also the chair of the industry's largest lobbying group, PhRMA. In both roles, he has been able to communicate directly with Trump and indicated he has done so on tariffs and other topics.
"Pfizer is working closely with the Trump administration and Congress on solutions that will increase access and affordability for American patients and enhance the power of the biopharmaceutical innovation ecosystem in the United States. Our discussions have been productive," Pfizer told Yahoo Finance in a statement following the White House announcement.
Pfizer isn't alone. Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks has also spoken to the administration. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot has taken steps to turn the UK-based company's image into a more American one, with rumors of moving the company's main listing to New York rather than London.
In addition, Soriot said this week that he has sent his own proposal for reduced drug prices to the White House, with a response pending.
In a statement Thursday, the White House acknowledged it had been in touch with the companies but that "industry proposals have fallen short."
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The CEOs have been largely focused on cultivating a relationship with the White House and the Trump administration in hopes of avoiding tariffs on drug imports. They have collectively committed to more than $200 billion in manufacturing investments through the end of the decade and have expressed interest in helping to produce lower-cost drugs onshore, rather than using lower-cost production overseas.
A majority of branded drug prices in the US are higher, while generics cost less and make up a majority of the drugs consumed by Americans.
"It is estimated that 91% of all prescriptions in the United States are filled as generic drugs, with more than 32,000 generic drugs approved by the FDA to date," a 2022 report from the FDA said.
In a press briefing from the White House, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt read the letter to Eli Lilly aloud. She added, "According to recent data, the prices that Americans have been paying for branded drugs are more than three times the price other similarly developed nations pay. The president is determined to solve this problem."
Trump has tried since his first term to pass a most-favored-nations clause for drug pricing, which would force companies to match pricing in other countries. He signed an executive order on May 12 to provide pathways for the administration to implement the clause and gave companies 30 days to negotiate at the time.
In a statement from the White House Thursday, Trump said, "In case after case, our citizens pay massively higher prices than other nations pay for the same exact pill, from the same factory, effectively subsidizing socialism [abroad] with skyrocketing prices at home."
Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said in a note to clients Thursday, "The demands ... are unachievable, given significant negative implications for US. biopharmaceutical company a) revenue and profits, b) ability to invest in innovation, and c) ability to compete with rising ex-US competition, in particular from Chinese biopharma companies."
Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, provider services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee as AnjKhem on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem.
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