Pharmacy, palms and prescription medication for buyer with paper bag for healthcare, medicine and pharmaceutical. Closeup of a pharmacist or medical employee with individual in drugstore for retail service | Picture Credit score: © Azee Jacobs/peopleimages.com – inventory.adobe.com
United States President Donald Trump has signed an government order designed to scale back prescription drug costs for Individuals, bringing the costs according to these paid by related nations. Amongst different stipulations, the order, issued Might 12, 2025, directs the Secretary of Well being and Human Companies (HHS) to determine a mechanism by which US sufferers can purchase medicine instantly from producers who promote at a “most favored nation” value, bypassing middlemen (1).
“In case after case, our residents pay massively increased costs than different nations pay for a similar precise capsule, from the identical manufacturing facility, successfully subsidizing socialism aboard [abroad] with skyrocketing costs at dwelling,” Trump mentioned in a Truth Sheet offered by the White Home (1). “So, we’d spend super quantities of cash with the intention to present cheap medicine to a different nation. And after I say the value is totally different, you possibly can see some examples the place the value is past something—4 occasions, 5 occasions totally different.”
Authorities companies licensed to behave
Additional instructions given within the order embrace directing the US Commerce Consultant and Secretary of Commerce to take measures to make sure international international locations should not unfairly or purposefully undercutting market costs, due to this fact driving value hikes within the US (1). The Trump administration additionally plans to speak value targets to pharmaceutical producers with the purpose of securing one of the best deal for the US, which is each the world’s largest funder and purchaser of prescribed drugs.
If drug producers fail to supply most favored nation pricing—inside 30 days, as an Related Press report specified—the HHS Secretary could be licensed to suggest guidelines that impose such pricing, and take different “aggressive measures” to considerably cut back prescription drug prices and finish anticompetitive practices (1,2). What particular measures the Commerce or HHS departments would possibly doubtlessly take below these circumstances weren’t elaborated upon within the order.
A Reuters report mentioned that Trump is hoping to chop the costs that US taxpayers pay for prescribed drugs by at the least 59% (3,4). Based on the Truth Sheet, the chief order builds on actions taken by Trump throughout his first time period in workplace to scale back home drug value disparities however now expands these efforts by together with Medicaid along with Medicare (1).
Nevertheless, the order got here on the identical day that the Republican-led US Home of Representatives rolled out a plan to trim $880 billion from Medicaid (5).
Forecasting pharma impacts
Social media reacted swiftly to information of the chief order.
“That is as disastrous because it will get for biopharma,” John Carroll, founding father of Endpoints Information, wrote on X/Twitter. “Pure chaos. So, everyone is OK with that? Most favored nation pricing is cyanide to Huge Pharma.”
Additionally commenting on X/Twitter was BiotechTV founder Brad Loncar: “Pharma [companies] ought to publicly embrace MFN [most favored nation pricing] usually as a result of getting international international locations to pay a better share is clearly a great factor, however extra vital, pharma is so hated that being considered as a group participant reasonably than obstructionist must be the trade’s new modus operandi.”
In 2022, former President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Discount Act into regulation, permitting the federal government to bypass pharmacy profit managers and negotiate costs instantly for a number of medicine coated by Medicare Half B and Half D that value probably the most to sufferers dwelling within the US; nonetheless, the Trump administration mentioned in its Might 12 Truth Sheet that Biden’s efforts to “beat Medicare” resulted in drug costs that have been, on common, 78% increased than in 11 comparable international locations (1,4).
References
1. The White Home. Truth Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Publicizes Actions to Put American Sufferers First by Reducing Drug Costs and Stopping Overseas Free-Using on American Pharmaceutical Innovation. WhiteHouse.gov, Might 12, 2025.
2. Seitz, A. and Kim, S. M. Trump Indicators Govt Order Setting 30-Day Deadline for Drugmakers to Decrease Prescription Drug Prices. APNews.com, Might 12, 2025.
3. Holland, S.; Erman, M.; and Wingrove, P. Trump Govt Order Calls for Pharma Business Value Cuts. Reuters.com, Might 13, 2025.
4. Bonavitacola, J. Trump Govt Order May Scale back Pharmaceutical Prices by 59%. AJMC.com, Might 12, 2025.
5. Mascaro, L. Home Republicans Unveil Medicaid Cuts That Democrats Warn Will Depart Tens of millions With out Care. APNews.com, Might 12, 2025.
