When President Donald Trump declared in May that he wanted drug companies to voluntarily cut their prices, few pharmaceutical executives wanted to go first. Now, no one wants to be last — and risk the wrath of the president.
At least seven drug companies are set to announce price cuts with Trump at the White House on Friday, including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Sanofi, according to four people with knowledge of the pending announcement, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. The deals will offer discounts on drugs sold to the government and to Americans through a new website, TrumpRx.gov, in exchange for tariff relief and other incentives, including faster FDA reviews for future approvals.
The companies and the White House declined to comment on the specifics of their deals. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X that drug-price announcements were forthcoming.
TODAY AT 1PM AT THE WHITE HOUSE: President Trump will be announcing more incredible deals that will lower prices of drugs and pharmaceuticals. Tune in!
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) December 19, 2025
Friday’s announcements follow similar deals with five other companies, beginning in September when Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla joined Trump to unveil price cuts. Since then, other drug-company executives have joined Trump to announce discounts on fertility and GLP-1 drugs and other offerings. In return, the administration has lifted the threat of tariffs and offered the companies other benefits, such as priority vouchers to expedite FDA reviews, which can lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue for a company if a new drug is quickly approved.
Trump has heralded his initiative — an effort to link U.S. drug prices to lower costs abroad — as one of his most significant achievements this year, arguing that even small savings matter amid the difficulty of curbing drug prices. The deep-pocketed pharmaceutical industry has repeatedly blocked most major efforts at reform for decades, and U.S. drug spending continues to rise, outpacing other wealthy countries.
“It’s called Most Favored Nation, and no president has ever had the courage or ability to get this done until now,” Trump said in his prime time speech on Tuesday night.
The president has sought to make regular announcements about his drug-price deals, aiming to show progress and counter voter frustration over rising health care costs entering a mid-term year that favors Democrats. Trump is timing Friday’s event to be one of his final White House events of the year, before he heads to North Carolina for a rally on affordability and then to his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Democrats have questioned whether Trump’s dealmaking with the companies is creating a quid pro quo, with pharmaceutical executives striking agreements to give the president a political win in exchange for potential profit.
“Congress and the American people remain in the dark about the contours of your agreement with the Trump Administration,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Reps. Richard E. Neal (D-Massachusetts), Frank Pallone Jr., Jr. (D-New Jersey) and Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Virginia) wrote in letters sent Thursday to pharmaceutical executives participating in the initiative. The lawmakers are the top Democrats on four congressional committees that oversee aspects of the U.S. health system.
Several former FDA officials — including two physicians who recently oversaw the agency’s drug-regulation center— have warned that the voucher program may be illegal and risk undermining public health by streamlining reviews. While the agency’s drug reviews can traditionally take about a year, as scientists pore over safety and effectiveness data, Trump officials have said that the voucher program can guarantee a review within one or two months. The administration has defended the program, saying that safety and effectiveness remains a priority despite the accelerated timetable.
Trump officials have used other levers, too. The administration has relied on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’s innovation center, which allows officials to pilot payment changes without seeking congressional approval, to pressure drug companies that do not voluntarily lower prices. Several drug-payment pilots have already been announced, and more are expected on Friday, the people said.
Wall Street analysts say the companies have incentives to strike quick deals with the administration, rather than tempt Trump’s ire. Medicaid represents a relatively small portion of their business, and many companies are agreeing to price cuts similar to discount programs they have begun.
Pfizer’s announcement with Trump also sent a signal to the rest of the industry, several pharmaceutical executives and industry analysts have told reporters.
“When you saw the lack of impact to earnings of the initial companies’ deals, for most coming after, it’s a no-brainer,” said Chris Meekins, a managing director at Raymond James.
Trump officials have said that the initial negotiations were tough, and securing concessions has become easier over time.
“I think the first five companies that came through the pipeline were some of the hardest ones to get through,” CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said in an interview on Dec. 7, pointing to the size of companies like Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly, which were among the first companies to agree to deals.
He also said a “batch” of announcements was set to come later in December.
“We have several companies that have already agreed,” Oz said. “Literally, it’s about getting on the president’s schedule and organizing the timing.”
Trump officials have leaned on the health care companies’ civic responsibilities, in addition to applying pressure through tariffs and the CMS innovation center.
Chris Klomp, the head of the Medicare program and a lead negotiator on the drug-price cuts, said he stressed “duty and patriotism” in a conversation with one prominent CEO.
“And when we got done, he said, ‘I didn’t get into this business for [quarterly earnings],” Klomp said in remarks at last month’s MAHA Action summit. “I have children. I want to make them proud. I understand this is important to you and the president. We will show up.’”
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