President Trump announces deal with Pfizer to sell its drugs on federal website

President Trump connected Tuesday announced a woody pinch Pfizer to waste its narcotics straight to consumers astatine discounted prices. They'll beryllium disposable done a website operated by nan national government.

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

President Trump says he's making bully connected his committedness to little supplier prices for Americans. He announced a woody pinch Pfizer connected Tuesday and besides announced a caller authorities website called TrumpRx. NPR pharmaceuticals analogous Sydney Lupkin is pursuing this. Hey, Sydney. So what's successful this deal?

SYDNEY LUPKIN, BYLINE: The splashiest portion involves Pfizer trading its drugs, specified arsenic Xeljanz for rheumatoid arthritis, straight to consumers astatine a discount. Consumers could entree nan deals done a website operated by nan national authorities called TrumpRx. Trump has talked astir bringing supplier prices successful statement pinch what different developed countries salary and making those different countries salary what he calls their adjacent share. Here's Trump astatine nan property conference.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The United States is done subsidizing nan wellness attraction of nan remainder of nan world. It's a large thing. This is - I can't show you really large this is.

LUPKIN: The woody besides includes discounts for Medicaid and a promise from Pfizer to waste caller narcotics astatine nan aforesaid value successful nan U.S. arsenic successful different developed countries. Trump says akin deals pinch different drugmakers are successful nan works.

MARTÍNEZ: How did President Trump get nan drugmakers to travel to nan table?

LUPKIN: Yeah. It started pinch an executive bid backmost successful May connected what nan president calls astir favored federation supplier pricing. That would nexus U.S. prices to those elsewhere. Over nan summer, he upped nan ante pinch letters to 17 drugmakers that gave them 60 days to travel up pinch plans and past came closed-door negotiations. During nan property conference, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told reporters that negotiations went precocious into nan night. Pfizer's CEO, Albert Bourla, was astatine nan property conference, too, by nan way. He said this woody came pinch a three-year grace play from definite tariffs, and he added that tariffs were the, quote, "most powerful instrumentality to motivate behaviors." So it's clear nan threat of them played a domiciled here, though nan galore specifications of nan woody aren't public.

MARTÍNEZ: OK. But what would this mean for consumers then?

LUPKIN: You know, a batch of them astir apt won't announcement a difference. Here's Ameet Sarpatwari, a supplier argumentation master astatine Harvard Medical School.

AMEET SARPATWARI: I deliberation it's much model dressing than nan transformational benignant of reforms that are needed to really supply alleviation to Americans struggling pinch precocious prices.

LUPKIN: In Medicaid, for instance, beneficiaries already salary very small aliases thing for drugs, and it's not yet clear really overmuch money nan Medicaid portion of nan woody would prevention taxpayers. As for TrumpRx, direct-to-consumer prices mean that consumers are not utilizing their wellness insurance. So while connected mean prices whitethorn driblet 50% done TrumpRx, that's still 50% disconnected a large number, and it still mightiness beryllium unaffordable. Insurance copays could beryllium cheaper. But if personification needs a supplier that isn't covered by security and it's offered connected TrumpRx, it mightiness beryllium an option.

MARTÍNEZ: All right. So erstwhile is TrumpRx expected to get going?

LUPKIN: Yeah. The trumprx.gov website is expected to motorboat successful early 2026, and nan caller Medicaid prices are expected to return effect astir nan aforesaid time. As for nan committedness of launching caller narcotics astatine nan aforesaid value successful nan U.S. arsenic abroad, that's an ongoing process. In fact, immoderate different companies person already said they'll do that. Bristol Myers Squibb, for instance, says its caller schizophrenia supplier will beryllium sold astatine nan aforesaid value successful nan U.K. arsenic it is here, but that won't prevention American patients immoderate money.

MARTÍNEZ: NPR pharmaceuticals analogous Sydney Lupkin. Thanks a lot.

LUPKIN: You bet.

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