Trump Posts Letters to Regeneron, Merck, AstraZeneca, GSK, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk, Amgen, Bristol-Myears, AbbVie, Novartis, Gilead, J&J on Truth Social
U.S. President Donald Trump has posted letters to Regeneron, Merck, AstraZeneca, GSK, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk, Amgen, Bristol-Myears, AbbVie, Novartis, Gilead, J&J on Truth Social on Thursday.
Here's the text of the letter (from the letter sent to Novo Nordisk):
On May 12, 2025, I signed an Executive Order—Delivering Most-Favored-Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients—to stop global freeloading and guarantee that Americans pay the same prices enjoyed by other developed nations. Right now, brand name drug prices in the United States are up to three times higher on average than elsewhere for the identical medicines. This unacceptable burden on hardworking American families ends with my Administration.
Most proposals my Administration has received to “resolve” this critical issue promised more of the same: shifting blame and requesting policy changes that would result in billions of dollars in handouts to industry. Moving forward, the only thing I will accept from drug manufacturers is a commitment that provides American families immediate relief from the vastly inflated drug prices and an end to the free ride of American innovation by European and other developed nations. Accordingly, I am calling on Novo Nordisk and every manufacturer doing business in our great country to take the following actions within the next 60 days:
Extend Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) pricing to Medicaid: Provide your full portfolio of existing drugs at MFN rates for every single Medicaid patient;
Guarantee MFN pricing for newly-launched drugs: Contract with the United States to guarantee Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payers receive MFN prices on all new drugs—both upon launch and moving forward;
Return increased revenues abroad to American patients and taxpayers: Domestic MFN pricing will require you, and all manufacturers, to negotiate harder with foreign freeloading nations. U.S. trade policy will endeavor to support this. However, increased revenues abroad must be repatriated to lower drug prices for American patients and taxpayers through an explicit agreement with the United States;
Provide for Direct Purchasing at MFN Pricing: Participate in Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and/or Direct-to-Business (DTB) distribution models for high-volume, high-rebate prescription drugs so all Americans get the same low MFN prices that manufacturers already offer to third-party payers.
My team, including Secretary Kennedy and Administrator Oz, stand ready to implement these terms. I expect you to further engage with them immediately, in good faith, to deliver relief for American families.
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 abusive drug pricing practices.
Americans are demanding lower drug prices, and they need them today. Other nations have been freeloading on U.S. innovation for far too long: it is time they pay their fair share. I look forward to your binding commitments to each of these goals by September 29, 2025, and my team stands ready to assist with implementation questions. Thank you for your immediate attention to this urgent priority.