A Senate committee report found drug companies that signed pricing deals with the Trump regime raised costs on hundreds of other medications not covered by those agreements
New drugs are launching at an average cost of more than $350,000 per year, and some existing medications cost five times more in the U.S. than in comparable countries
The Trump regime imposed new tariffs on imported drugs in April, with rates set to climb to 100% by 2029, a move expected to drive consumer costs higher
Drug companies that signed pricing agreements with the Trump regime are raising costs on hundreds of other medications even as the White House touts its dealmaking, according to a new report from the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
A new report from the committee and released by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, found the companies signing deals with the White House are limiting their approach to specific drugs under those agreements. Otherwise, they’re increasing the cost of hundreds of medications, NBC News reported, with new ones launching at an average cost of more than $350,000 per year.
At least nine drug production companies have entered deals with the White House to lower specific prescription drug prices, according to Politico, but when those deals were struck, many experts said they wouldn’t take effect for years and would have limited-at-best impacts on actual consumer costs.
Those same companies, according to Sanders’ report, are raising costs on many of their other products, adding new scrutiny on the White House’s dealmaking. Those deals included offering drugs at discounted prices for non-insured patients on TrumpRX.gov, a new website from the White House similar to GoodRx, a consumer discount site.
In the meantime, other drugs saw their prices climb to levels well above what global counterparts pay. Merck’s Keytrude, a cancer treatment, costs $210,000 per year in the United States compared to about $38,000 per year in Japan. Kesimpta from Norvaris, which treats multiple sclerosis, saw its price soar by more than $10,000 to $141,000 annually, compared to German annual costs of $17,300 and Canadian costs of $23,500.
The outcome is clear, one analyst told NBC News: the companies who entered deals with the Trump administration clearly didn’t lower prices across all of their offerings, only focused on specific drugs.
Costs may not get better for consumers for some time.
In early April, the Trump administration imposed a 100% tariff on a number of imported drugs, CNBC reported, specifically targeting pharmaceutical companies who have not yet struck deals with the White House. It’s partially intended to push drugmakers into investing in domestic production, but imposing a 20% tariff by summer 2026 that will climb to 100% by 2029 is expected to increase costs on certain drugs in the process.
By Joe O’Leary
