Trump to announce AstraZeneca deal to lower Medicaid drug prices

President Donald Trump is scheduled to announce a deal on Friday evening in the Oval Office with AstraZeneca intended to lower prescription drug prices for lower income Americans, a White House official said. The announcement is set for 5 p.m. Eastern and will include AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot, according to the administration.

The agreement reportedly adopts a most favored nation pricing model for Medicaid, committing AstraZeneca to match the lowest prices it charges in other developed countries and to guarantee comparable pricing for newly launched drugs. AstraZeneca also pledged significant investment in the United States, including a previously announced 4.5 billion manufacturing plant in Albemarle County, Virginia, part of a broader commitment the company says will total 50 billion by 2030 and support thousands of construction and manufacturing jobs. The White House declined to provide additional pricing details ahead of the announcement.

The AstraZeneca deal follows a similar agreement reached last month with Pfizer, which the administration said agreed to provide reduced pricing to every state Medicaid program and to introduce new drugs in the United States...