President Donald Trump revealed a deal with AstraZeneca at a White House briefing, saying the company will give Americans “major discounts” on prescription medicines. He presented the move as part of a broader effort to lower U.S. drug prices and push industry pricing into line with global rates. The announcement came with state and corporate leaders on stage to signal a bigger manufacturing and pricing shift.
“AstraZeneca, the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer in the United Kingdom, is committing to offer Americans major discounts on their vast catalog of prescription drugs — one of the great companies by the way,” Trump said. “And a most favored nations pricing clause, so most favored nation is you’re gonna pay whatever the lowest price anywhere in the world is. That’s what you’re going to be paying.”
The White House framed the AstraZeneca move as a follow-up to a recent agreement with another drugmaker and as part of the administration’s Most Favored Nation push. Officials say MFN is meant to stop overcharging American patients when lower prices exist abroad. The Republican message behind the announcement was simple: negotiate hard and bring costs down.
“I had it going very well in my first term, but we were interrupted by a rigged election. So I was unable to carry it forward. We started it,” Trump added.
“One of the reasons I wanted to run again was we had to have favored nations where the world is not going to be paying just a fraction, just a tiny fraction of what we were paying.”
“AstraZeneca will also list many of their most popular drugs online at TrumpRX.gov,” Trump said.
“I don’t know why they put the name Trump. I did not tell him to do it, but I’m honored to let him do it …
“At heavily reduced most favored nations cost, Americans can expect discounts. And, as I said, it could be in many cases way over 100 percent.
WATCH:
“As an example, one particular drug that’s hot, very hot, 654% on inhalers. COPD and asthma as well as certain diabetics medications, they’re going to be averaging about 654% reduction in price,” Trump said. “In addition, all medications AstraZeneca introduces to the American market going forward will also be sold at these heavily discounted rates.”
Trump also announced that AstraZeneca will invest $50 billion in the United States over the next five years for research and development and to onshore manufacturing facilities. The company has previously outlined plans for a $4.5 billion Virginia plant and proposed an additional $500 million to expand the site’s capacity and support treatments including cancer drugs. Officials pitched the package as a mix of job creation and increased domestic production.
Administration officials said detailed price lists and rollout steps will be posted on TrumpRX.gov in the weeks ahead. Agencies will track compliance and production as onshoring projects move forward. Republicans framed the initiative as a voter-facing achievement that puts cheaper prescriptions within reach.
Trump appeared with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot to announce the plan and thank company leaders for the investment. The presence of state officials underlines the focus on onshoring manufacturing and job creation. Administration aides said the Virginia plant and the wider investment will be linked to the reduced pricing commitments.
