The United States and the United Kingdom have reached an agreement in principle to slash the price of drugs.
Ambassador Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the United States and the United Kingdom “announce this negotiated outcome pricing for innovative pharmaceuticals, which will help drive investment and innovation in both countries. The Trump Administration is reviewing the pharmaceutical pricing practices of many other U.S. trading partners and hopes that they will follow suit with constructive negotiations.”
Under the agreement in principle, the United Kingdom will “reverse the decade-long trend of declining National Health Service (NHS) expenditures on innovative, life-saving medicines, and increase the net price it pays for new medicines by 25%,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative explained. “Furthermore, the United Kingdom will ensure that higher prices for new medicines are not materially eroded by a demand for portfolio-wide concessions under the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) or other rebate schemes.”
For its part of the agreement, the United States will exempt UK-origin drugs, ingredients, and medical technology from Section 232 tariffs and will not target UK pharmaceutical pricing practices “in any future Section 301 investigation for the duration of President Trump’s term,” the office added.
The agreement in principle with the United Kingdom follows several other pharmaceutical deals. Last month, President Trump announced deals with companies Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly that will cut the cost of weight loss drugs. The deal represents a “historic reduction in prices for Americans on the two drugs with the highest annual expenditures in the United States, both of which help adults struggling with diabetes, heart disease (Ozempic and Wegovy only), obesity, and other conditions,” a White House fact sheet says.
