Trump Presses Drugmakers to Lift Foreign Prices, Pledge U.S. Cuts

The Trump administration has held a series of private meetings with major drugmakers aimed at raising prices of prescription medicines in Europe and other foreign markets, according to a White House official and three industry sources. In return, companies would be expected to cut prices in the United States under a proposed “most-favored-nation” framework that would align U.S. costs with the lowest prices charged in other wealthy countries. Officials have told companies the government will support their negotiations with foreign governments and could use trade talks with the European Union and the United Kingdom as leverage. A senior executive at a European pharmaceutical company said the push to lift overseas prices has become the administration’s top priority in its discussions with the industry. Eli Lilly Chief Executive Officer David Ricks said long-term parity between U.S. and European drug pricing is desirable but noted that European governments are unlikely to agree to pay more without trade pressure. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America declined to comment on the talks. The United States pays nearly three times more for prescription drugs than other developed nations, a gap Trump has vowed to narrow. Last week the president sent letters to the chiefs of 17 large drugmakers urging them to lower U.S. prices, reiterating warnings that most industry proposals so far would shift blame or require costly concessions from taxpayers. European officials acknowledged regular contact with the industry and pointed to an understanding that any U.S. tariffs on pharmaceuticals would be capped at 15%. Health economists, however, questioned whether boosting foreign prices is politically feasible abroad and argued that U.S. prices could fall without jeopardizing drug research and development spending.