President Donald Trump announced Friday that a second pharmaceutical corporation caved to his demands on drug pricing and U.S.-based manufacturing.
The deal with AstraZeneca, which is based in the U.K., includes a “most-favored-nation” pricing model that Trump has said will lower prescription costs for Americans, including those on Medicaid. AstraZeneca will also make its drugs available through a new federal website Trump announced last month, TrumpRx.gov, said the president.
AstraZeneca will also invest $50 billion in drug manufacturing and research and development in the U.S. as part of the deal with the Trump administration.
“I look forward to being at your opening of that incredible facility,” Trump said of the new drug manufacturing plant the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca just broke ground on in Charlottesville, Virginia. “Beautiful location.”
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The announcement comes on the heels of a similar deal struck by another pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, which said it would invest $70 billion in U.S. manufacturing and research and also cooperate with TrumpRx.
Trump earlier threatened to impose 100% tariffs on pharmaceutical companies that were not actively expanding their manufacturing capabilities in the U.S., though that threat was later walked back by other administration officials.
Trump has been calling for “most-favored-nation” drug pricing since his first term. The proposal would cap prices for new drugs in the U.S. at the prices companies demand in other peer nations. His executive order “Reducing Drug Prices for Americans and Taxpayers” demanded companies align themselves with his vision by a Sept. 29 deadline. Trump also sent letters to 17 major drug manufacturers outlining the steps he wanted them to take to bring down drug prices in July.
“Make no mistake: a collaborative effort towards achieving global pricing parity would be the most effective path for companies, the government and American patients,” the letter said. “But if you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices.”
The CEO of AstraZeneca, Pascal Soriot, appeared alongside Trump and other administration officials on Friday.
“I can tell you you’ve kept my team up at night, and me as well,” Soriot told Trump. “But it has been really worth it.”
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