The announcement, which Trump made with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at the White House, came as the Republican president has for months sought to lower drug costs.
Under the agreement, New York-based Phizer will charge most-favored-nation pricing to Medicaid and guarantee that pricing on newly launched drugs, Trump said. That involves matching the lowest price offered in other developed nations.
“It’s going to have a huge impact on bringing Medicaid costs down like nothing else,” the president said.
“I can’t tell you how big this is," he added.
It’s unclear how the new policy will affect Medicaid patients who often pay a nominal co-payment of a few dollars to fill their prescriptions, but lower prices could help state budgets that fund the programs. Medicaid is the state and federally funded program for people with low incomes.
Besides committing to lowering costs, Trump said, Pfizer agreed to spend $70 billion in domestic manufacturing facilities. The White House did not immediately release details about the investment.
Pfizer Inc. is one of the largest U.S. drugmakers. It produces the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty and the treatment Paxlovid. Its products also include several cancer drugs, the blood thinner Eliquis and the pneumonia vaccine Prevnar.
