AstraZeneca makes pharma price deal with Trump Administration

At an event at the White House last week,  AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot joined President Trump and others  to confirm the company met all requests set out in the President’s 31 July letter and will lower pharmaceutical prices.

AZ will also see a three-year  delay in tariffs.

The company agreed to  measures which will enable American patients to access medicines at prices that are equalized with those available in wealthy countries, a release stated.

As part of the agreement, AstraZeneca will provide Direct-to-Consumer   sales to eligible patients with prescriptions for chronic diseases at a discount of up to 80% off list prices. AstraZeneca will participate in the TrumpRx.gov direct purchasing platform, which will allow patients to purchase medicines at a reduced cash price from AstraZeneca.

AstraZeneca has also reached an agreement with the US Department of Commerce to delay Section 232 tariffs for three years, enabling the company to fully onshore medicines manufacturing so that all of its medicines sold in America are made in America.

Earlier, pharma giant Pfizer signed an agreement with the administration, which then announced TrumpRX. Like AZ, Pfizer will get a three-year exemption from tarrifs.

AZ recently announced $50 billion investment in US medicines manufacturing and R&D over the next five years.

Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, said: “Every year AstraZeneca treats millions of Americans living with cancer and chronic diseases and, as a result of today’s agreement, many patients will access life-changing medicines at lower prices. This new approach also helps safeguard America’s pioneering role as a global powerhouse in innovation and developing the next generation of medicines. It is now essential other wealthy countries step up their contribution to fund innovation.”

The company recently broke ground on a massive site in Virginia and has made other investments in the US. Delaware has been left out of the AZ building boom. However, Merck did decide to open a $1 billion site near Wilmington that is now under construction.

The US is AstraZeneca’s largest market by sales and is also home to 19 R&D, manufacturing and commercial sites. The Company’s US workforce totals more than 25,000. AZ employs a reported 1,600 in northern Delaware. 

It operates administrative, logistics and manufacturing sites in Delaware.