Trump says he will 'equalise' drug prices for Americans
By Frank Prenesti
Date: Monday 12 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - US President Donald Trump on Monday said he would "equalise" drug prices, accusing pharmaceutical companies of deep discounts in return for access to foreign markets.
Trump signed an executive order that said his administration would take action to ensure foreign countries are not engaged in any act, policy, or practice ... that has the effect of forcing American patients to pay for a disproportionate amount of global pharmaceutical research and development, including by suppressing the price of pharmaceutical products below fair market value in foreign countries".
"My administration will take immediate steps to end global freeloading and, should drug manufacturers fail to offer American consumers the most-favored-nation lowest price, my administration will take additional aggressive action," Trump said.
Shares in pharmaceutical companies fell on Monday after Trump said the order would see the price of prescription drugs for Americans slashed by 30% - 80%.
"The Pharmaceutical/Drug Companies would say, for years, that it was Research and Development Costs, and that all of these costs were, and would be, for no reason whatsoever, borne by the "suckers" of America, ALONE," he wrote on social media on Sunday.
He added that it was "difficult to explain and very embarrassing" why US prices were higher compared with other countries and that he would introduce a "most favoured nation" policy, where the US pays "the same price as the nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World".
Shares in pharma companies around the world were lower on the news, with AstraZeneca, GSK, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Sanofi, Sandoz and Haleon were all hit.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
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