🚨 Trump Rocks Pharma With Drug‑Price Shock, Then Pulls Punches!

MediaFx
Aug 1, 2025
2 min read

TL;DR:Trump posted letters on Truth Social on July 31, 2025, demanding 17 big pharma CEOs slash U.S. drug prices to “most‑favoured‑nation” (MFN) rates by Sept 29, threatening to “deploy every tool” if they don’t. 📉 But new letters are less strict than a May executive order — MFN now applies mainly to Medicaid drugs and new launches, not all medicines. 💊 Analysts say this softer scope is more realistic. Meanwhile, pharma stocks sank, with major companies taking hits. 📉

📰 What’s Up, Oilwale and Pharma CEO Style?

In May 2025, Trump signed an executive order to force pharma to match U.S. drug prices with some of the lowest paid in wealthy countries (MFN) — across Medicare, Medicaid, commercial markets, and all drugs.
But the July 31 letters sent to CEOs of 17 companies (like Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Gilead, J&J) only ask for:
- MFN pricing for Medicaid (already discounted),
- MFN rates for new drugs only on Medicare or commercial plans,
- A promise to return excess overseas revenue to U.S. patients, and offer direct‑to‑consumer pricing for high‑volume drugs.
Analysts say this shift is softer, narrower, and could be easier to negotiate, compared to the broad May plan.

📉 Market Drama: Pharma Stocks Dive

Shares of major drugmakers fell ~2–3% immediately on the news. The S&P 500 pharma index dropped about 2.7% on that day.
Novo Nordisk, the maker of obesity drug Wegovy, hit its lowest share price since August 2021, down 4% in a day and over 30% for the week.

💬 Industry vs. Trump: Who’s Saying What?

PhRMA, the pharma lobby, argues that MFN is a form of foreign price‑setting and would undermine U.S. innovation and workers. They warn such controls risk hurting the biopharma ecosystem.
Back in April 2025, Trump revoked parts of Biden administration drug‑pricing reforms (like Medicare caps and therapy‑gene subsidies), further weakening federal drug cost controls.

🤔 MediaFx Working‑Class Take (From the People’s POV):

This move shows Trump using populist drama to grab headlines and worry pharma execs — but then walking back real reform. It’s good that he’s targeting rocketing prices, but when the fight gets real, the industry gets sweeter deals. That’s typical: talk tough, settle for half measures. The real working‑class win would be strong, enforceable legislation that actually lowers prices for all patients — not just broad words or narrow deals. Until then, taxpayers’ pockets remain the losers. 💸