Greek Pfizer Boss to Lower Drug Prices After Trump Deal

Greek Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla agreed to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicaid as part of a deal with the Trump administration, President Donald Trump announced Tuesday at the White House.

The agreement, unveiled just hours before a possible government shutdown, will see the New York-based drugmaker adopt “most-favored-nation” pricing for Medicaid, meaning it will match the lowest prices offered in other developed countries. Trump said similar deals with other pharmaceutical companies are expected soon, under the threat of new tariffs.

Pfizer, which manufactures the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty, the antiviral Paxlovid, cancer treatments, the blood thinner Eliquis, and Prevnar pneumonia vaccines, also agreed to guarantee those lower prices on newly launched drugs.

The company will participate in a new federal platform, TrumpRx, allowing patients to buy directly from manufacturers at discounts averaging 50%. However, health experts cautioned that the impact may be limited, with consumers unlikely to see lower prices until 2026.

“This is something most people said was not doable,” Trump said, adding that the deal marks a turning point in efforts to rein in high drug costs. Bourla described the agreement as reversing “an unfair situation” that has long burdened patients and state health programs.

Pfizer also pledged to invest $70 billion in U.S. manufacturing and research facilities over the coming years, becoming the latest major drugmaker to expand domestic production.

While the administration is touting the deal as a breakthrough, some experts remain skeptical. Vanderbilt University professor Stacie Dusetzina noted that many of the specifics remain confidential, making it unclear how much different the pricing will be from what Medicaid already pays.

Medicaid patients typically pay only small co-payments, but lower prices could ease strain on state budgets and help uninsured patients who face steep costs. Even with discounts, however, some treatments could still cost patients hundreds of dollars per month.

Critics also warned that direct-to-consumer sales platforms may benefit only a limited group of patients, rather than addressing systemic affordability challenges across the U.S. drug market.