Trump’s Regeneron pricing deal expands his most-favored-nation push
President Donald Trump announced a deal with Regeneron on Thursday aimed at reducing the cost of the company’s pharmaceuticals for patients in the United States, tying the agreement to the White House’s most-favored-nation drug pricing initiative. Under the administration’s terms, Regeneron would lower prices for all of its current and future drugs on Medicaid, the program for people with low incomes that is funded by states and the federal government.
The White House also said Regeneron will sell Praluent, a cholesterol drug, for $225 on TrumpRx, the discounted drug website associated with the Trump administration. The pricing provisions were outlined in an agreement first described by NOTUS and later confirmed in a White House fact sheet, according to the Associated Press.
Trump made the announcement at the White House and said the discounts should be widely publicized, telling reporters: “It should be front page news.” He also said voters in the November midterm elections should reward his party for the administration’s agreements with drugmakers, adding, “We should win the midterms, but it doesn’t work that way, unfortunately,” the Associated Press reported.
The Regeneron deal also reflects a broader pattern the administration has described for the most-favored-nation strategy. The Associated Press said Trump last July sent letters to executives at 17 major pharmaceutical companies about bringing U.S. pharmaceutical prices in line with those in other developed nations, and Regeneron was the last company among that group to strike an agreement.
In addition to the Medicaid and TrumpRx pricing terms, the White House said Regeneron committed to spending $27 billion in the United States on research, development and manufacturing, according to the fact sheet. The Associated Press reported that Trump’s drug-pricing deals have historically offered companies relief from his tariffs if they make commitments like those.
The administration’s disclosure of deal details has faced scrutiny, with contract terms not yet fully released publicly. When members of Congress pressed for the contracts this week, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the administration would provide the information it could without disclosing proprietary information or trade secrets, the Associated Press reported. Trump and Kennedy have also urged Congress to codify the deals into law.
The Associated Press report also noted that Regeneron announced Thursday that its gene therapy Otarmeni for a rare form of congenital hearing loss had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and would be made available to clinically eligible individuals at no charge. The therapy received expedited approval under the FDA’s Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher program, which lawmakers have criticized for being outside Congressional authorization.
Lawmakers have also raised questions about how FDA vouchers have been used in connection with pricing concessions that the White House seeks. The Associated Press said House and Senate lawmakers have noted that FDA vouchers have repeatedly gone to companies that agree to pricing concessions sought by the White House.
The White House said it is pursuing economic relief ahead of the November midterm elections, as Americans have reported that health care costs and other basic expenses are straining household budgets. The Associated Press said the administration’s deals are designed to reduce drug costs even as Medicare and Medicaid coverage can shield many patients from a larger share of the price depending on factors including insurance coverage and the degree of competition for a treatment.