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4h ago

White House Adds Nine Firms to Most‑Favored‑Nation Drug‑Pricing Initiative

The move aims to lower government drug spending by matching U.S. Medicaid prices to the lowest rates in other wealthy countries though exact discounts and covered drugs remain undisclosed.

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 31: U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by (L-R) B1 Medicines CEO John Oiler, Astellas Pharma President Michael Putrasis, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz, holds up a poster that displays drug prices as he speaks during a healthcare affordability event in the Oval Office at the White House on August 31, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump announced that nearly a dozen pharmaceutical manufacturers have agreed to lower the price of their medications to match their prices outside of the United States. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event after signing an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 27, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
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Overview

  • On Monday, Aug. 31, 2026 the White House announced agreements with nine mid‑sized manufacturers that bring the total number of firms in the administration’s voluntary most‑favored‑nation (MFN) program to 26.
  • The new participants — Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva and UCB — will make products available to state Medicaid programs at MFN prices, the administration says.
  • As part of the package the companies pledged about $19.6 billion in U.S. manufacturing investment and committed large donations of active pharmaceutical ingredients to a Strategic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Reserve (SAPIR).
  • Key contract terms have not been published, so which drugs are covered and the exact discounts are unknown, and experts note Medicaid already gets steep statutory rebates so many patients may see little immediate out‑of‑pocket relief.
  • The administration ties participation to trade incentives such as tariff relief and projects up to $600 billion in decade‑long savings, but independent analysts warn that behavior by drugmakers and the lack of published terms make the actual fiscal and patient impacts uncertain and worth close scrutiny.