Washington, D.C. – October 11, 2025 – In a bold move aimed at easing the financial burden on American families, President Donald J. Trump announced on Friday a landmark agreement with AstraZeneca, the United Kingdom's largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, to slash prices on its extensive lineup of prescription drugs sold in the United States. Speaking from the Oval Office during a packed news conference flanked by AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, Trump hailed the deal as a "game-changer" for patients grappling with what he called the "unfair" and "outrageous" cost of medications.
"Reducing drug prices is one of the most important agenda items of my presidency," Trump declared, his voice echoing off the historic walls of the White House. "Americans have been paying the highest prices anywhere in the world for drugs – it's a disgrace. We're ending that today with AstraZeneca, one of the great companies, by the way. They're committing to offer Americans major discounts on their vast catalog of prescription drugs, including a most-favored-nation pricing clause."
The most-favored-nation (MFN) model, a cornerstone of Trump's pharmaceutical reform strategy, mandates that U.S. prices for AstraZeneca's drugs align with the lowest rates charged in other developed nations, such as those in the European Union, Canada, and Japan. "So, most favored nation is you're going to pay whatever the lowest price anywhere in the world is. That's what you're going to be paying," Trump explained, gesturing emphatically. He contrasted this with the status quo, noting that "similar drugs are sold at much more affordable prices in different countries, whereas prices in the US are high – sometimes three, four, five times higher."
Under the agreement, every state Medicaid program nationwide will gain access to these MFN prices for AstraZeneca products, potentially saving hundreds of millions of dollars annually for the program that serves over 80 million low-income Americans. The deal extends to the company's primary care medications, such as those for asthma, diabetes, and chronic respiratory conditions, as well as select specialty drugs. Eligible patients can purchase these at discounts of up to 80% off list prices through a new federal platform, TrumpRx.gov, set to launch in early 2026. This direct-to-consumer site, first unveiled in the Pfizer deal, bypasses traditional middlemen like pharmacy benefit managers, which Trump accused of inflating costs.
Trump emphasized the forward-looking scope of the pact: "In addition, all medications AstraZeneca introduces to the American market going forward will also be sold at these heavily discounted rates." This provision ensures that innovative therapies in oncology, rare diseases, and biopharmaceuticals – areas where AstraZeneca leads globally – won't perpetuate the pricing disparities that have plagued the U.S. market.
Compounding the pricing concessions, AstraZeneca pledged a staggering $50 billion investment in the United States over the next five years, focused on research and development (R&D) and domestic manufacturing. Announced initially in July 2025 amid Trump's tariff threats, the commitment has now been formalized as part of the pricing accord. "This isn't just talk – they're putting their money where their mouth is," Trump said. "AstraZeneca will onshore manufacturing facilities across the country, creating tens of thousands of high-skilled jobs and bringing production home from overseas."
Details of the investment include a multi-billion-dollar flagship facility in Albemarle County, Virginia, near Charlottesville – AstraZeneca's largest single manufacturing project ever. Originally slated at $4 billion, the site received an additional $500 million boost this week, bringing the total to $4.5 billion. Set to break ground imminently and operational within four to five years, the plant will produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for weight management drugs like oral GLP-1 therapies, metabolic treatments such as baxdrostat, and even cancer medications. It will leverage advanced technologies including AI, automation, and data analytics to optimize output.
Further expansions target R&D hubs in Gaithersburg, Maryland; Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts; and clinical trial sites in California, Indiana, and Texas. Cell therapy manufacturing will ramp up in Rockville, Maryland, and Tarzana, California, while continuous manufacturing operations grow in Mount Vernon, Indiana. "This historic investment is bringing tens of thousands of jobs to the US and will ensure medicine sold in our country is produced right here," said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a statement supporting the deal. AstraZeneca's U.S. workforce, already exceeding 25,000 and supporting over 100,000 indirect jobs, stands to swell significantly, with the Virginia site alone projected to create 3,600 positions.
Soriot, standing stoically beside Trump, acknowledged the negotiations' intensity. "President Trump and his team really kept me up at night," he quipped, drawing laughs from the room. More seriously, he added, "This agreement safeguards America’s pioneering role in innovation while ensuring fair pricing. We're committed to delivering next-generation medicines – from oncology breakthroughs to metabolic solutions – made in America for Americans." The CEO highlighted AstraZeneca's shift toward its "very American" identity, noting plans to list shares on U.S. exchanges alongside London and Stockholm.
This AstraZeneca pact follows hot on the heels of a similar breakthrough with Pfizer announced on September 30, 2025 – just 10 days prior. In that Oval Office event, Trump revealed Pfizer's commitment to MFN pricing for its portfolio, covering a "large majority" of primary care drugs and select specialties at average savings of 50%, with highs of 85%. Pfizer agreed to sell directly to Medicaid patients via TrumpRx.gov and pledged $70 billion for U.S. R&D and manufacturing over the coming years, including a three-year tariff reprieve in exchange for onshoring production. "Pfizer has agreed to offer countless prescription medications and major discounts in the United States as a result of the most favored nation drug pricing model that we established early this year," Trump recapped Friday.
These deals stem from a broader offensive launched in May 2025, when Trump signed Executive Order 14,297: "Delivering Most-Favored-Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients." The order directed HHS and CMS to align U.S. prices with international benchmarks, decrying how Americans subsidize global R&D through inflated costs – brand-name drugs here cost over three times more than in OECD peers, per White House data. Follow-up letters went out July 31 to 17 top manufacturers, demanding binding commitments by late September or facing 100% tariffs on imported patented drugs under Section 232 national security probes.
