Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, open a new tabExpected to announce deals with the White House to offer the lowest dose of their weight-loss drugs at $149 a monthin exchange for Medicare coverage, Endpoints News reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Patients in the United States currently pay more for prescription drugs, often nearly three times more than in other developed countries.and President Donald Trump has been pressuring drug makers to lower their prices to what patients pay elsewhere.
In exchange, the drugs would get coverage under Medicare, a federal health insurance program in the US for people aged 65 or older or who have disabilities.which would open up a huge new set of refunds, according to the Endpoints report.
Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter, That the Trump administration is also negotiating deals with Lilly and Novo to allow lower doses of some of their obesity drugs to be sold through TrumpRx, a White House initiative.
Lilly’s initial dose of Zepbound would sell for $299, $50 less than the company currently charges patients who buy through its online direct-to-consumer website.one of the sources told the Journal.
According to the WSJ, Trump is expected to announce them Thursday morning at the White House, along with pharmaceutical executives.
However, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt He said he would not preempt Trump on any drug-related announcements, but that it was committed to lowering prices.
“I will not preempt the president on future announcements, but I join his firm commitment to lowering drug prices in this country,” he told reporters at a White House briefing, referring to previous announcements on most-favored-nation pricing.. “We work daily with pharmaceutical companies to achieve this.”
A Novo Nordisk spokesperson told Reuters the company is in constructive talks with the Trump administration.in relation to the most favored nation executive order.
Pfizer was the first pharmaceutical company to announce an agreement with the Trump administration. In September, the company agreed to reduce prescription drug prices in the Medicaid program to the same as it charges in other developed countries in exchange for reduced tariffs. The British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca in October also signed a similar pact.
Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical expenses for some people with limited incomes. Trump had also said Pfizer would offer that most-favored-nation price on all new drugs launched in the U.S. and noted that other drugmakers would do the same..
