Two major pharmaceutical companies have struck deals with The White House, offering lower prices on some drugs sold in the US in exchange for avoiding tariffs.
Pfizer and AstraZeneca forged agreements with the Trump Administration to lower prices for some prescription medicines in the US while maintaining the country’s role as a leader in biopharmaceutical innovation worldwide.
In response to directives in a letter from the Trump Administration to several drug companies in July, Pfizer and AstraZeneca agreed to put measures in place to ensure Americans pay drug prescription prices that are comparable to those available in other developed countries, and to price newly launched medicines at parity with other key developed markets.
Both pharmaceutical companies will also participate in TrumpRx.gov, a direct purchasing platform that will allow American patients to purchase medicines from Pfizer and AstraZeneca at a significant discount. Pfizer will offer most of its primary care treatments and select specialty brands at an average of 50% savings, in some cases up to 85%. Meanwhile, 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.
In exchange, Pfizer and AstraZeneca will receive a three-year grace period from Section 232 tariffs, as long as they continue to invest in manufacturing in the US.
“We now have the certainty and stability we need on two critical fronts, tariffs and pricing, that have suppressed the industry’s valuations to historic lows,” Albert Bourla, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, said.
Both companies will also invest more in manufacturing in the US.
AstraZeneca plans to fully onshore manufacturing so that it makes all the medicines it sells in the US, investing $50 billion in US manufacturing and research and development (R&D) over the next five years. (That includes plans to open a cell therapy manufacturing facility in Rockville, MD, early next year and a second major research and development center in Cambridge, MA, in late 2026.)
The drug company anticipates that the investments will help deliver $80 billion in total revenue by 2030 and expects 50% of that amount to be generated in the US. 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 exceeds more than 25,000 people and supports more than 100,000 jobs across the country.
Meanwhile, Pfizer is committing an additional $70 billion to US research, development, and capital projects over the next few years. Pfizer has 13 manufacturing and distribution sites and seven major research and development facilities in the US, with an American workforce of 31,000 employees. Additionally, Pfizer reported over $83 billion investment in American biotech innovation from 2018-2024.
Pfizer and AstraZeneca are also among a handful of pharmaceutical companies that are expanding manufacturing and research facilities in the US in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. In addition to AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Co. plans to build new manufacturing facilities in Texas and Virginia. (Lilly is also planning two more sites but hasn’t announced plans for them yet.) AbbVie is building a manufacturing facility in North Chicago, Ill. Merck decided to invest in an R&D center in the US instead of in London; Johnson & Johnson announced plans to build a plant in North Carolina, and AmGen is investing in a new R&D center in California.
Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s chief executive officer, said in a news release that the agreement “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.”