Trump Sets 60-Day Deadline for 17 Pharma Firms to Lower US Drug Prices

US President Donald Trump has sent letters to 17 major pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, Pfizer, and Eli Lilly, demanding they lower drug prices in the United States within 60 days or face retaliatory measures. Trump insists that US drug prices be aligned with the lowest prices paid by other developed countries and has called for measures such as extending Most Favored Nation pricing to Medicaid, applying these prices to all new drugs, reinvesting profits made abroad back into the US system, and enabling direct-to-consumer drug purchases at discounted rates. The president has also proposed supporting companies in raising drug prices abroad to match US levels but requires that any additional overseas profits be used to reduce drug costs domestically. Studies confirm that Americans pay up to three times more for medicines than people in other developed countries, a disparity Trump attributes to pharmaceutical companies benefiting from American innovation without equitable cost sharing. The announcement has already negatively impacted pharmaceutical stocks, with significant declines noted in companies like Novo Nordisk, AstraZeneca, and Merck. Industry analysts express skepticism about the ease of implementing these demands due to legal challenges, while the pharmaceutical sector faces ongoing uncertainty amid trade negotiations and price regulation debates.