AstraZeneca has reached a deal with Donald Trump’s administration to sell some medicines at discounted prices to Medicaid in exchange for relief from threatened US tariffs.
Announced at the White House on Friday, the agreement mirrors a similar deal made last week with Pfizer. Under the terms, AstraZeneca will offer “most-favored-nation” pricing — matching the lowest prices available in other developed countries — for certain drugs sold to Medicaid, the government program for low-income Americans.
“For many years, Americans have paid the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs,” Trump said. “This deal could bring prices down to the lowest anywhere in the world.”
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot joined Trump for the announcement, noting that negotiations were intense. “You really kept me up at night,” he told the president.
While Trump claimed the agreement could cut prices by “up to 1,000%,” health experts dismissed the statement as impossible. Economists said the savings under Medicaid — which already secures some of the lowest prices in the US — would likely be modest.
The deal also introduces discounted prices through a planned “TrumpRx” website, similar to the Pfizer arrangement, which lowered prices for Medicaid patients in return for tariff relief.
More than 70 million Americans rely on Medicaid, but the program’s drug spending is much smaller than Medicare’s, which was not included in the agreement.
Experts said the pact could help AstraZeneca avoid steep import tariffs but may do little to ease broader prescription drug costs for US consumers. “It’s good for the companies,” said Boston University’s Rena Conti, “and has very uncertain, if any, benefit for Americans struggling with affordability.”
