By zoey
President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled a new agreement with biotechnology firm Regeneron aimed at lowering the cost of prescription medications, marking the latest step in the administration’s broader effort to reduce drug prices in the United States.
The deal, described by administration officials as part of an ongoing “most-favored-nation” pricing initiative, will require Regeneron to reduce the cost of its existing medicines as well as any future treatments sold through Medicaid, the government program that provides health coverage for low-income Americans. The agreement also includes plans to offer the company’s cholesterol-lowering drug Praluent at a significantly reduced price through a government-backed online platform designed to expand access to discounted medications.
According to details confirmed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Praluent will be made available for $225 through the administration’s prescription drug website, which has been positioned as a central tool in its cost-reduction strategy. The platform is intended to give consumers direct access to lower-priced medications outside of traditional insurance frameworks.
The announcement comes as the administration seeks to highlight economic initiatives ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, with rising living costs continuing to weigh heavily on American households. Surveys have consistently shown that expenses related to health care, energy, and everyday goods remain a primary concern for voters, prompting policymakers to emphasize measures aimed at financial relief.
Speaking at the White House, Trump framed the agreement as a major milestone in the effort to bring U.S. drug prices closer in line with those in other developed countries, where governments often negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies. He described the pricing concessions as significant and suggested that such measures should receive widespread public attention.
The Regeneron agreement is the latest in a series of deals the administration has pursued with major drugmakers. Last year, Trump sent letters to executives at 17 leading pharmaceutical companies urging them to adopt pricing structures comparable to those abroad. Regeneron is the final company from that group to reach a formal arrangement with the administration, completing a key phase of the initiative.
The relationship between Trump and the company dates back several years. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the president received an experimental antibody therapy developed by Regeneron while hospitalized with the virus. Following his recovery, he publicly praised the company and its treatment, drawing national attention to its work in biotechnology.
As part of the newly announced agreement, Regeneron has also committed to expanding its manufacturing footprint within the United States. Reports indicate the company plans to invest nearly $10 billion in domestic production capacity, aligning with the administration’s broader push to strengthen supply chains and reduce reliance on overseas pharmaceutical manufacturing. Similar commitments have been a feature of other agreements, often tied to relief from tariffs or other regulatory considerations.
In a separate development, Regeneron said that a new gene therapy known as Otarmeni has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for use in treating a rare form of congenital hearing loss. The company stated that the treatment would be made available at no cost to eligible patients in the United States. The therapy was approved under an expedited pathway associated with a federal program designed to accelerate access to high-priority medical innovations.
That program has drawn scrutiny from some lawmakers, who have questioned whether its implementation has been sufficiently transparent and whether it has been used to advance policy goals tied to drug pricing. Members of Congress have raised concerns that companies receiving expedited regulatory benefits have also been among those agreeing to pricing concessions sought by the administration.
Despite the administration’s emphasis on the agreements as a transformative approach to lowering costs, full details of the contracts have not been publicly released.
Lawmakers from both parties have pressed for greater disclosure, seeking clarity on how the pricing mechanisms will operate and what long-term effects they may have on the pharmaceutical market. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has indicated that the administration intends to share as much information as possible while protecting proprietary business data.
Officials have also encouraged Congress to formalize the agreements through legislation, arguing that codification would provide greater certainty and durability to the policy framework.
Not all aspects of the broader drug-pricing initiative have proceeded smoothly. Earlier this week, a key component involving weight-loss medications faced a setback when Medicare delayed implementation of a plan that would have expanded insurance coverage for a class of treatments known as GLP-1 drugs.
The delay disrupted agreements with major pharmaceutical manufacturers and highlighted the complexities involved in reshaping pricing structures across the health care system.
Drug pricing in the United States remains influenced by a range of factors, including market competition, patent protections, and the structure of insurance coverage. While many patients are shielded from the full cost of medications through private insurance or public programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, high list prices can still have significant implications for government budgets and out-of-pocket expenses.
Under Medicaid, patients typically pay only nominal co-payments for prescriptions, but lower drug prices can ease the financial burden on state and federal governments that fund the program. The administration has argued that agreements like the one with Regeneron could deliver broader fiscal benefits while improving access to essential treatments.
As the policy continues to evolve, attention is likely to remain focused on whether these agreements translate into measurable savings for patients and whether they can be sustained through legislative and regulatory channels.