AstraZeneca has reached a deal with Donald Trump’s administration to lower drug prices and avoid looming US tariffs.
The British pharmaceutical company will sell certain medicines to the government’s Medicaid program at discounted “most-favored-nation” rates — matching the lowest prices available in other developed countries — in exchange for tariff relief.
Trump announced the agreement from the Oval Office, calling it “a huge win for Americans,” while claiming it could make US drug prices “the lowest in the world.” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot, who attended the event, admitted the negotiations had been “tough” and said Trump’s team “really kept me up at night.”
The deal mirrors one struck last week with Pfizer, setting a framework for Trump’s push to pressure major drugmakers to slash costs. Letters were sent to 17 pharmaceutical companies demanding price cuts or the threat of 100% import tariffs.
Under the new arrangement, AstraZeneca will offer discounted prices to Medicaid — which covers over 70 million low-income Americans — and through a planned “TrumpRx” website. However, experts cautioned that the impact may be modest.
Craig Garthwaite of Northwestern University noted that Medicaid already pays among the lowest prices in the US. “I don’t think this will mean a huge discount for most drugs,” he said.
Trump’s threats of steep tariffs had reportedly been a key motivator for AstraZeneca to make the deal. Still, Rena Conti of Boston University warned that the agreement would “help the companies far more than it helps Americans struggling to afford their prescriptions.”
