Donald Trump recently announced a partnership with the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to implement a “most-favored-nation” drug-pricing model intended to reduce the cost of prescription medications for American consumers. This arrangement follows a similar agreement made with Pfizer a week prior. Under the terms, AstraZeneca will provide discounted prices for certain medications to the Medicaid health plan, which provides coverage for low-income individuals, in exchange for relief from potential tariffs.
During the announcement at the White House, Trump indicated that he wished the deal could have been finalized earlier, attributing delays to the “rigged election.” AstraZeneca’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, noted that negotiations had been challenging, requiring significant effort from both sides. The agreements are part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to lower U.S. prescription drug costs, which he has described as the highest globally.
According to the deal, AstraZeneca will offer the most-favored-nation pricing to Medicaid and ensure that newly launched drugs will match the lowest prices available in other developed countries. Trump asserted that this could lead to significant price reductions for consumers, although some experts have pointed out inconsistencies in his claims regarding the magnitude of potential cost reductions.
The Medicaid program, which covers over 70 million people, already benefits from the lowest drug prices in the U.S. Experts have noted that while the savings from these new agreements may be minimal, the pressure to lower prices is part of Trump’s strategy to influence the pharmaceutical industry. In previous months, he had threatened substantial tariffs if drug manufacturers did not comply with pricing requests.
Analysts suggest that while the AstraZeneca agreement may alleviate some tariffs, it might not significantly impact overall healthcare costs for Americans, particularly regarding rising health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses for medications.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/10/trump-astrazeneca-drug-prices